Third time's a charm
by Tess84
Summary: A post 'Partings' fic. Luke leaves town after Lorelai tells him she spent the night with Chris. Will be return, and will he and Lorelai get another chance? Thanks to Katie for her help! I don't own anything... unfortunately... Reviews appreciated
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Lorelai closed the door behind her, trying to shut everything out. But she couldn't, and unwanted, the words from the previous night came back to her. He didn't want her anymore, hedidn't want to marry her. She felt the tears she'd been holding back ever since then start to trickle down her cheeks, and she slid down the door and onto the floor.

She didn't know why she had gone to Christopher last night, but he had done his best to comfort her, in his own way. And when she had asked him if he would just hold her so she could sleep, he had obliged.

In the morning, there was a split second when she couldn't remember how she had ended up in his bed, but then the memories had come back, thrusting the pain back in her heart.

What was she supposed to do now? She wasn't sure that she knew how to live without him anymore, at least not when she had to see him every day, see him with April, living the life he didn't want her to be a part of. And she didn't know if she would be able to forgive him, if he against all odds would show up and try to make things right. Because no matter what he said, the fact still remained; he didn't want to marry her, because if he did, he wouldn't have turned her idea of eloping down so fast, he would have at least considered it.

So she would do what she had the last time they weren't together. She would take it one day at a time, and maybe sometime in the future, it wouldn't hurt to see him, to talk to him. Maybe they could even be friends.

But right now, she didn't want to see him. Because she was still so angry, so heart broken, and she didn't think she could stand facing him. Maybe she should leave town for a while, take a week off and go somewhere warm? Rory could come with her, school was out for the summer. Yeah, that would be good.

She pulled herself up from the floor and started walking into the kitchen to get something to eat, when there was a knock on the door. She frowned, wondering who would be there so early, and went to open the door. When she saw who was outside it, she froze.

"Lorelai..." He started, but she cut him off.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, crossing her arms in front of her body as if it would protect her from what he would say.

"I just... I needed to talk to you, explain." He tried.

"There's nothing to say." Lorelai said, her voice calm despite the fact that her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would jump out of her chest,plus she was practically hyper ventilating.

"Yes, there is." He insisted.

"No, Luke, there isn't." Lorelai replied. "You said everything you had to say last night."

"No, I was just... surprised, I wasn't expecting that." Luke said. "Please, just listen to me."

"No." Lorelai shook her head. "I can't, not anymore. I'm tired of being the third wheel, the last priority in your life, I won't do it anymore."

"Is this about April?" Luke asked. "Because if you really want to meet her, you

can."

"It's not about April, not just about her anyway." Lorelai replied. "I've been insecure and scared for the past few months, and you haven't even noticed."

"Can we just talk about this? It doesn't have to be like this, we could..."

"I spent the night with Christopher." She cut him off, knowing it was probably the one thing that would make him leave, and she really needed him to leave before she caved in.

He didn't say anything, but she could see the pain in his eyes, and for a moment Lorelai wondered if she'd made a mistake. But then he turned around and walked away, and she knew she'd been right. He didn't love her anymore.


	2. 1 Honey, that's an apple

**1 – Honey, that's an apple**

Lorelai walked across the town square with a determined look on her face. She had to talk to him, _needed_ to talk to him. She had been lying awake all night, going over everything that had happened in her mind.She finally had at last convinced herself that he really wanted to try to make things better, and if they could just talk about it, that maybe it would work. She could only hope that he would believe her when she told him that nothing had happened with Chris.

Taking a deep breath, Lorelai crossed the street and put her foot on the bottom flight of stairs in front of the diner. Only to find the 'Gone fishing' sign on the door. For a moment she just stared at it, and then its meaning started to sink in, and she slumped down on the stairs, tears starting to run down her face.

He'd left. He couldn't even bare to be in the same town as her, that was how much he hated her. And, really, could she blame him? Ignoring the fact that whoever walked by would see her, Lorelai buried her face in her hands and cried.

xxxxx

She wasn't crying when Rory found her in the exact same place, almost an hour later, having been called up by a worried Patty who had seen Lorelai from her dance studio. Instead she sat, staring into space, obviously seeing something completely different than the town square in front of her.

"Hey you." Rory said softly, sitting down beside her mother. "What are you doing up so early?"

Lorelai looked at her daughter, only then realizing she was there. The company of a friendly face made the tears start to run again.

"He's gone." She said simply. Rory glanced behind her to read the sign on the door to the diner.

"He just went fishing." She said, putting an arm around her mother's shoulders and carefully standing up, pulling Lorelai with her. "He'll be back in a few days. How about we go home, and I'll make you some breakfast, OK?"

Lorelai nodded, and obediently let Rory lead her through the town and back home.

xxxxx

But Rory had been wrong. Luke didn't return from his 'fishing trip' a few days later. In fact, almost two weeks had passed, and he still wasn't back.

Lorelai knew this, because every day, she would take the long way to the inn just so she would walk past the diner. Which was as closed as it could be.

xxxxx

It was Wednesday, ten days after Luke had left Stars Hollow, and Lorelai was running late for work. But she still took the route past the diner, because she still hoped, somewhere deep down, that today would be the day he came back. When she was half way across the town square, she looked across the street, searching for the ever present 'Gone fishing' signonly to find the door open and the diner full of people.

_He's back, s_he thought to herself as she quickened her steps and almost ran across the street, up the stairs and into the diner.

"Luke?" She practically yelled, earning strange looks from the people eating. She scanned the room, looking for him, but instead, she found a sympathetic looking Lane behind the counter.

"He's not here, Lorelai." She said, tilting her head to one side in a compassionate way. "I'm sorry."

"But... but the diner... it's open..." Lorelai stammered. "He has to be here."

"I'm sorry." Lane repeated. She walked around the counter and pulled Lorelai with her to an empty table. "Luke called me last night and asked if Ceasar and I could run this place for a little while." She explained.

"He's not here?" Lorelai asked as realization dawned on her.

"No, he's not." Lane said. "Do you want me to call Rory?"

"No, no, I'm fine." Lorelai said, standing up. "I just... I have to go."

"Do you want some coffee?" Lane asked, but Lorelai just shook her head, and practically ran out of the diner.

"She didn't want coffee?" An astounished Patty said to no one in particular. "I don't think she has ever turned down the offer of coffee before."

"Maybe she's sick?" Babette suggested, and they both looked after the fast disappearing form of Lorelai through the window.

"Maybe..." Patty said, not sounding completely convinced.

xxxxx

"You're late!" Michel said in an annoyed voice as Lorelai rushed into the inn ten minutes later.

"I know." She replied, not giving the French man a second glance before she continued into the kitchen. She needed her Sookie.

"Hey, sweetie, I was just about to call you." Sookie said as Lorelai entered the kitchen. "Hey, what's wrong?" She continued, seeing the look on her best friends face. Lorelai slumped down at the counter.

"He's not coming back." She said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Who's not coming back?" Sookie asked, but Lorelai just shook her head. "Hey, it's OK, sweetie." Sookie tried to sooth, wrapping her arms around Lorelai and rubbing her back as she cried.

A few minutes later, Lorelai pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Thanks, Sook." She said, smiling weakly at her friend.

"Anytime, you know that." Sookie said, pulling up another stool and sitting down. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I don't think Luke's coming back." Lorelai revealed, a few more tears escaping her eyes.

"What? Why?" Sookie frowned.

"I went by the diner today, like everyday, and it was open." Lorelai said. "So I hurried inside, because I thought he'd be there, but he wasn't. And then Lane told me that he had asked her and Ceasar to run the diner for a while."

"So he must be coming back, if he only asked them to keep it running for a while." Sookie reasoned, but Lorelai only shook her head.

"But what if that 'while' just keeps going, and he never comes back?" She asked.

"Oh, honey, I'm sure he'll be back." Sookie tried to comfort. "Just give him a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Lorelai nodded. "Sorry I cried all over you."

"That's what friends are for." Sookie said, hopping off the stool. "You want me to make you some coffee?"

At the thought of coffee, Lorelai felt her insides rumble alarmingly, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick.

"No, I'm fine." She replied, not noticing the shocked look Sookie was giving her. "Is there anything to eat, though, I didn't have any breakfast?"

"Check the fridge, I think there's some left over chocolate cake and brownies in there." Sookie said, getting back to what she had been doing beforeLorelai arrived, which was making breakfast for the guests.

Lorelai walked over to the large fridge and opened it, searching its contents for a moment. Finding something that looked appealing, she grabbed it and closed the door to the fridge again.

"So, how are we doing with the dinner menu for tonight?" She asked, turning to Sookie.

"Well, I've narrowed it down to three choices, but I'm still not..." Sookie cut herself off when she saw what Lorelai was eating. "Lorelai, honey, are you feeling OK?" She asked in a worried voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" Lorelai asked, taking another bite.

"Because you just turned down coffee, which I don't think you've ever done in the sixteen years I've know you, and now you're eating an apple." Sookie said.

"What?" Lorelai said, looking down at what she was holding in her hand. It was indeed, as Sookie had just pointed out, an apple. And it tasted heavenly. Trying to sort through the thoughts that were currently racing through her brain, Lorelai sat back down at the counter**** A though hit her, and she froze, the apple half way to her mouth for another bite. "Oh no!" She said, reaching for her purse.

"What? What's 'Oh no'?" Sookie asked, not understanding what Lorelai was doing.

"Oh no! No, no, no." Lorelai repeated over and over again, flipping backwards through her calender, getting more and more desparate the further back she got. Then, finally, there it was, a tiny, black X on May eleventh. "Sookie, what day is it today?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"Wednesday, why?" Sookie asked, peeking over Lorelai's shoulder. "What was on May eleventh?"

"I mean what date is it?" Lorelai clearified.

"Oh. Well, since you apparently missed the fireworks all over town last night, it's July fifth." Sookie tried to joke, but Lorelai didn't notice.

"Oh God." She just said, dropping the calender on the counter and burying her face in her hands.

"Lorelai, what's wrong?" Sookie asked, sounding worried. "Honey, tell me

what's going on, you're freaking me out here."

"How could I let this happen again?" Lorelai asked no one in particular, looking up at Sookie.

"Let what happen again?" Sookie asked, looking from Lorelai to the dayplanner and then back again. Lorelai could almost see the wheels turning in her best friends mind, and then she got it. "Oh my God, you're..." She didn't finish the sentence, she didn't need to.

"It appears so." Lorelai said quietly.

"Well, it doesn't have to mean..." Sookie started. "I mean, stress can... and maybe you're just..."

"Sookie, I'm eating an apple." Lorelai cut her off. "Do you know when I last ate an apple?" Sookie shook her head. "The last time I ate an apple was... well, actually it was when Martha was born, but that's beside the point, which is that the last time I ate an apple was when I was pregnant with Rory."

"Oh." Was all Sookie said.

"Yeah, oh." Lorelai agreed. They sat in silence for a while, not noticing the people coming and going in the kitchen. Finally, Sookie spoke.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, and Lorelai shrugged.

"I guess I'll have to take a test, just to make sure." She said, knowing full well that it wasn't what Sookie had meant. "And I'll have to see a doctor, make sure everything's OK."

"I didn't mean that, honey, I meant... what are you going to **do**?" Sookie said, emphasizing the word do.

"I know what you meant, Sookie." Lorelai said in a tired voice. "I just... I don't know. I mean, what can I do, really, if he's not here?"

"Aren't you going to at least try to get a hold of him?" Sookie asked.

"Of course I will, when I find out for sure." Lorelai said, noticing that she'd used the word when and not if.

"Well, let's go find out. Right now." Sookie said, grabbing Lorelai's arm and pulling her down from the stool.

"What? Sookie, if you haven't noticed, we have an inn to run." Lorelai tried to argue, but Sookie just waved her hand in the air.

"Michel can manage without us for an hour or two." She said, dragging Lorelai out of the kitchen and through the foyer. "Michel, we're going out for a while, can you handle everything?" She called to Michel as they passed him.

"Why I put up with the two of you is beyond me." Michel complained.

"It's way beyond us to, sweetie." Sookie agreed with him. "So, you'll manage?"

"Fine. Go."

xxxxx

"OK, which one looks best?" Sookie asked half an hour later, as she and Lorelai stood in the Hartford CVS.

"I don't know... the pink one?" Lorelai suggested.

"You just like the color." Sookie said.

"You have to admit it's the prettiest." Lorelai argued, getting a raised eyebrow from her friend.

"Let's just take one of each." Sookie said, taking one of every pregnancy test on the shelf and putting it in the metal basket she was carrying.

"Sookie, there's, like ten, we don't need all of them." Lorelai tried, but Sookie just gave her a determined look.

"These things are only, what, 99 percent positive?" Sookie said. "Wouldn't taking more than one mean you can be more sure you get the correct result?"

"I'm not sure that actually made any sense, but fine, we'll take all of them." Lorelai agreed,too tired to argue with Sookie's somewhat confusing logic.

"Good." Sookie said, leading the way up to the cash register, where the girl behind the counter gave them a weird look.

"It's more accurate this way." Lorelai said, and the girl shrugged. "Why I let myself be seen with you in public is a mystery to me." Lorelai whispered in Sookie's ear, but Sookie just laughed.

xxxxx

"Are they done yet?" Lorelai asked, looking at her watch.

"I don't know, check the boxes." Sookie replied, picking up one of them. "This one's supposed to take fifteen minutes." She said, putting the test back down on the table in Lorelai's kitchen.

"This one is only two minutes." Lorelai said, looking at a plain, white box. "How long has it been?"

"Three minutes." Sookie replied, checking her watch. "Is it...?"

"I can't look." Lorelai said, putting the test back down. "Let's just wait til they're all done and look at them at once, OK?" She walked into the living room and Sookie followed, sitting down on the couch.

"OK." Sookie agreed, leaning back against the couch. "Where's Rory today? I thought school was over?"

"It is." Lorelai said, following Sookie's example and making herself comfortable on the couch. "She got an internship at a paper in Hartford, she started last week, so she's not home much during the day."

"She got an internship? Why didn't you tell me?" Sookie asked in a slightly hurt voice.

"I didn't?" Lorelai could have sworn that she had, but then again, it had been a while since she and Sookie really talked. "I'm sorry, I've just been... somewhere else for the past couple of weeks, you know." Sookie gave her a sympathetic look.

"I know." She simply said, knowing that her friend had been through a lot.

"I don't want us to not talk like this, ever again." Lorelai said, giving words to Sookie's exact thoughts.

"Me neither." She agreed. "So let's decide that no matter what, we'll always talk to each other, OK?"

"OK." Lorelai said, and they sat in silence for a while.

They both jumped slightly as the timer went off in the kitchen, signalling that the last of the tests were done.

"Ready?" Sookie stood up.

"Never." Lorelai replied, but she followed Sookie into the kitchen.

"Do you want to look or should I?" Sookie asked, and Lorelai hesitated for a moment.

"I think I need to do it." She then said, and Sookie nodded.

Lorelai picked up the first test and read on the box. _Pink for pregnant, blue for not pregnant._ She looked at the test in her hand, where a tiny window had definitely turned pink. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked at the test again. Yup, still pink. One after the other, she picked up the other tests, only to get the same results. They were all positive. Not that she had expected anything else.

"Lorelai?" She heard Sookie say, but her voice seemed to be coming from somewhere far away. Tears starting to form in her eyes, she looked up at her friend. "Come on, why don't you sit down?" Sookie led Lorelai to a chair and she obediently sat down. She could hear Sookie picking up the tests that she had dropped on the table.

"All positive." Lorelai said in a whisper.

"Yeah." Sookie replied. "Are you going to be OK with this?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Lorelai nodded, wiping tears off her cheeks. "I don't even know why I'm crying, it's not like I'm not happy about it, I just..."

"Pregnancy hormones." Sookie offered, and Lorelai gratefully smiled at her. "You can blame them for a lot, just ask Jackson." This made Lorelai laugh a little, something Sookie didn't think she had seen her friend do in a long time.

"Thanks, Sook." Lorelai said, getting up and throwing the tests in the trash.

"Hey, do you want me to call my doctor?" Sookie asked. "She was great when I had Martha."

"Yeah, sure." Lorelai agreed, not able to make any decisions at the moment.

"OK, I'm gonna go back to the inn and call her from there." Sookie said. "You take the day off and get some sleep, you look exhausted."

"Jeez, thanks a lot." Lorelai rolled her eyes. But she had to admit that she was tired. She hadn't slept well since that night. How was it possible to get so used to having someone next to you, that it was almost impossible to sleep without him?

"OK, I'm gonna go." Sookie announced. "I'll give you a call later about the doctor, kay?"

"OK." Lorelai replied, and listened as Sookie closed the door behind her when she left. Then she walked across the kitchen and into Rory's room. She really

needed to sleep, and she knew she wouldn't be able to in her own room. It just held too many memories.

xxxxx

"Mom? Mom! Wake up!" Lorelai felt someone shake her awake and reluctantly opened her eyes to find Rory standing over her.

"Hey, kid." She mumbled, still half asleep.

"Why are you asleep in my bed?" Rory asked, and Lorelai looked around. Right, she had decided to get some sleep and Rory's room had seemed like the best idea, seeing as how her room still felt too much like **their** room.

"Sorry, just got tired and your room was closer." She told Rory, and got up. She swayed for a few seconds, still groggy after her nap.

"No biggie. I was just surprised is all." Rory said, eyeing her mother suspiciously. "What are you doing home anyway? It's four thirty in the afternoon."

"Oh." Lorelai said, looking at her watch. "Well, I wasn't feeling too well and Sookie sent me home." She could hear how unconvincing she sounded, but she didn't care.

"OK." Rory replied, not wanting to call her mother on what was really going on. She would tell her eventually.

"I'm just gonna go up to bed, you'll be OK?" Lorelai asked, and Rory nodded.

"Yeah, you get some sleep." She said, and watched as her mother left the room. Yup, there was definitely something going on there.


	3. 2 We're like Thelma and Louise

**2 – We're like Thelma and Louise**

"Will you stop fidgeting?" Sookie asked in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry." Lorelai said, and dropped the hem of her shirt that she'd been playing with for the past ten minutes, ever since they sat down in Dr. Stevenson's waiting room. Sookie had, being the best friend that she was, agreed to go with Lorelai to the doctor's appointment. "I'm just a little nervous." Lorelai added, shooting Sookie an insecure smile.

"Oh, sweetie, it'll be OK." Sookie assured her, like she had numerous times over the past couple of days. "You've got me and Jackson, and Rory and the town, you're not alone."

"I know." Lorelai nodded. "I'm not even nervous about that." She admitted. "I think I'm more nervous that maybe it's... not really happening, you know? That the doctor will just take one look and say 'why are you here, you're not pregnant'. Because I've gotten used to this now, and I... I guess I really want it."

"Oh, sweetie, don't think that." Sookie tried to comfort. "I was there, remember? Nine positive tests."

"I know, but they can be wrong, they are sometimes, right?"

"Not nine tests." Sookie insisted. She could see that Lorelai was about to say something else, but at that moment a nurse came into the waiting room.

"Lorelai Gilmore." She called, and both Lorelai and Sookie stood up.

"I'm Lorelai." Lorelai told the nurse, who just nodded in the direction of a door at one end of the waiting room.

"Through there, please." She said, her eyes on the chart in her hand.

"Is it OK if my friend comes with me?" Lorelai asked, and the nurse nodded, leading the way into the examination room.

"You can change behind the curtain." She told Lorelai, indicating a curtain in

the corner and handing her a paper robe before leaving the room.

"Wow, she's not a people person, is she?" Sookie said, and Lorelai shook her head.

"I think she's missed her calling." She said, walking behind the curtain and beginning to take her clothes off. "Now, don't try to peek, I know it might be tempting." She joked, and Sookie laughed a little.

"I'll try to contain myself."

When Lorelai had finished putting the robe on, she pulled the curtain aside and jumped up on the examination table in the middle of the room.

"Think I'll have to put my feet up in those?" She asked Sookie, who didn't have time to answer because at that moment, doctor Stevenson walked into the room.

"Sookie, I didn't know you were coming here." She said, frowning as she looked at the file in her hand.

"Oh, no, I'm just here for moral support." Sookie said, shaking her head. "Nope, no more babies here, no siree."

"Alright." The doctor smiled. "And you must be Lorelai." She shook Lorelai's hand.

"That's me." Lorelai nodded. "And my daughter too, actually, see I named her after me 'cause, you know, guys do it all the time, but we usually call her Rory, so it won't get too complicated, and you really didn't need to know that."

"Not really, no." Doctor Stevenson laughed a little.

"Sorry, a little nervous." Lorelai said with a sheepish smile.

"Well, I'm guessing you've done this before, since you have a daughter?" The doctor asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"It was over twenty years ago, though, so if I get something wrong don't be too hard on me." She said, and the doctor nodded.

"OK, I'm going to take some blood to make sure that you're actually pregnant, and then I'll examine you to see if we can work out a date." Doctor Stevenson said, getting a syringe from a plastic bag. "Now, you've taken a home test, right?"

"Actually, I took nine." Lorelai said, getting a surprised look from the doctor. "Just to be on the safe side."

"OK. Now, this will hurt a little." Doctor Stevenson said as she wiped the bend of Lorelai's arm clean.

"Doesn't it always?" Lorelai joked, and then bit her teeth together as the doctor drew her blood.

"I'll just run this to thelab and be back in a little while." Doctor Stevenson said, and left Lorelai and Sookie alone in the room.

"Ouch." Lorelai said, holding onto the spot on her arm where there was now a bandaid.

"You do know there's going to be a lot more pain involved in this procedure, right?" Sookie asked, and Lorelai raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm only saying."

xxxxx

"Well, you are definitely pregnant." The doctor announced as she walked back into the room ten minutes later.

"Really?" Lorelai asked, a small smile starting to spread on her face.

"I take it that's good news?" The doctor asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"I think so." She said, allowing herself to actually think about it for the first time. She was having a baby. Luke's baby. The thought of Luke efficiently wiped the smile off her face. She had no idea where he was, how was she supposed to tell him?

"OK, so I'd like to calculate an estimated date for when the baby will get here." Doctor Stevenson said, pulling Lorelai out of her thoughts. "Do you know when the first day of your last period was?"

"May eleventh." Lorelai replied without hesitation.

"OK, then your baby should be here around... February fifth." The doctor announced.

"February fifth." Lorelai said to herself. "That's a good date, right?"

"It sure is." Doctor Stevenson agreed. "Now, if you'll lie back for me, I'd like to take a look at how it's going in there."

xxxxx

"So, you'll be back in a month for another check up, and a sonogram, OK?" Doctor Stevenson said a while later, as Lorelai was putting her clothes back on.

"Sure, I'll be here." She said, buttoning her skirt before walking out from behind the curtain.

"OK. And you remember what I told you? No caffeine and try to cut down on the sugar." The doctor instructed.

"I know, I've done this before." Lorelai replied.

"Just making sure." Doctor Stevenson smiled. "So, I'll see you next month."

"See you then." Lorelai agreed, and she and Sookie left the doctor's office.

They got in Sookie's car, and for the entire drive back to the inn, neither of them spoke. But when she pulled into the parking lot of the inn, Sookie turned off the car and faced Lorelai.

"You OK?" She asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"I am." She said, smiling at her friend. "I think I'm actually better than OK, for the first time in a while."

"Good, just making sure." Sookie said, getting out of the car. Lorelai followed her example. They walked up the driveway, and Lorelai noticed Sookie shooting her glances every few seconds.

"What?" She finally asked, stopping on the porch.

"I was just wondering if you were going to call him, now that you know." Sookie said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably. Lorelai sighed.

"I guess I should just get it over with." She said, getting her cell phone out of her purse. "Before I chicken out."

"You do that, honey." Sookie agreed, opening the door to the inn. "And remember, no matter what, I'm here."

"I know." Lorelai said, giving her friend a grateful smile before dialing the familiar number to Luke's cell phone. She waited for the dial tone, but instead there was a mechanical voice telling her that 'the number could not be reached at the moment'. His phone was turned off. Just to make sure, she dialed the number again, with the same result. Maybe the battery was dead... yeah, that was probably it.

OK. She'd just have to try again later.

xxxxx

"_The number you have called can not be reached at the moment, please try again later._"

Lorelai defeatedly flipped her cell phone closed and slumped down on the couch. It was Friday, and it had been two days since she was at the doctor's. Two days in which she had called Luke's cell phone more times than she could count. And everytime the same voice destroyed a little more of her hope of talking to him. Maybe he'd turned the phone off because he didn't want to talk to her. Maybe he hadn't even brought the phone with him. After all, did anyone use it besides her?

So what was she supposed to do now? She didn't have any way of reaching him.

Feeling the past couple of weeks getting to her, Lorelai laid down on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. She had told Sookie that she was tired, and needed to go home. And she was, she was so tired. Looking at her watch, she realized it was only three in the afternoon. She couldn't sleep now, she'd be up all night.

She needed to do something, though, because if she stayed on the couch in this position, she was sure she wouldn't be able to fight off the oh-so-tempting darkness.

Sitting up on the couch, Lorelai looked around the room, trying to find something to occupy her until Rory got home. Her eyes landed on the CD-player. Music, she needed music. She could never sleep when there was music on.

Determined, she stood up and walked over to her extensive CD collection. Looking through the titles, she found a CD that seemed to suite her mood. Taking the disc out of the cover, she popped it into the player and flipped through the songs, stopping on the one she had been looking for. Pressing the repeat button and turning the volume up as much as she could handle, Lorelai sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall behind her. She didn't want to be comfortable right now, she just needed to... she didn't know. As the music filled the room, she pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned her forehead against her knees, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. Paul Anka came over to her and laid down, his head on her feet in a comforting way.

_Is this the New Year or just another night?  
Is this the new fear or just another fright?  
Is this the new tear or just another desperation?_

_Is this the finger or just another fist?  
Is this the kingdom or just a hit n' miss?  
A misdirection, most in all this desperation  
_

_  
Is this what they call freedom?  
Is this what you call pain?  
Is this what they call discontented fame?  
_

_  
It'll be a day like this one  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
_

_  
I'm singing this one like a broken piece of glass  
From broken arms an' broken noses in the back  
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?  
_

_  
You're pushing till you're shoving  
You bend until you break  
Till you stand on the broken fields where our fathers lay  
_

_  
It'll be a day like this one  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
_

_  
There's nothing here worth saving,  
Is no one here at all?  
Is there any net left that could break our fall?  
_

_  
It'll be a day like this one  
When the sky falls down and the hungry and poor and deserted are found  
Are you discontented? Have you been pushing hard?  
Have you been throwing down this broken house of cards?  
_

_  
It'll be a day like this one  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
When the world caves in  
_

_  
Is there nothing left now?  
Nothing left to sing  
Are there any left who hasn't kiss the enemy?  
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?  
_

_  
Does justice never find you? Do the wicked never lose?  
Is there any honest song to sing besides these blues?  
_

_  
And nothing is okay  
Till the world caves in  
Till the world caves in  
Till the world caves in  
Till the world caves in  
Till the world caves in  
Until the world caves in  
Until the world caves in  
Until the world caves in  
Until the world caves in  
Until the world caves in  
Until the world caves in_

As the song started over, Lorelai finally let the tears she'd been holding in since that first phone call fall. She didn't know why she was crying, not really. She was happy about this, about the baby. Sure, it could have happened under better circumstances, but she had done it before, andshe knew she could again. But the difference was, that this time she didn't want to do it alone. She didn't want to be the single mom who got sympathetic looks when she showed up for another doctor's appointment alone. She didn't want the other couples in the lamaze class to look at her with pity in their eyes. She wanted to be able to say "hey, I got someone who wants this just as much as I do, someone who is going to be there when I want weird foods in the middle of the night, or when I can't decide on what color to paint the nursery, or to hold my hand in the delivery room and tell me how great I'm doing". She didn't have that last time, and she hadn't really missed it. But she had always thought, that if against all odds she had another kid, it wouldn't be like this.

Trying to get the thoughts out of her head, Lorelai focused on the music.

_Nothing like Switchfoot to cheer you up, _ she thought sarcastically to herself. But what difference did it make? There was no one there beside Paul Anka, she could allow herself to be weak with nobody watching.

xxxxx

"Mom?" Rory's voice was drowned in the loud music, so she turned it off, causing Lorelai to look up, a surprised look on her tear stained face.

"Rory, hey, when did you get home?" She asked, getting up off the floor and wiping the few tears that were still running down her cheeks away, trying to cover up the fact that she had been crying. Rory had, however, already noticed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, a worried frown on her face.

"Nothing, just a little tired." Lorelai tried to lie, but Rory knew her too well.

" 'Just a little tired'? Mom, that was _The Blues_, that's more than just a little tired." Rory insisted. Rory could count the times her mother had sat alone, listening to that song over and over again on the fingers of one hand, the last one having been just a couple of weeks earlier.

"Yeah." Lorelai now admitted, making her way to the couch where she sat down, pulling her legs up under her body."There is something else."

"Wanna talk about it?" Rory asked, sitting down next to her.

"Not really, but I think I need to." Lorelai said, knowing she had to tell Rory sooner or later, sooner being the best option. She just didn't know what to say, and she was also afraid that Rory wouldn't be happy about the whole thing.

"What is it, mom?" Rory asked when Lorelai had been quiet for a while. "You know you can tell me, right? No matter what it is, I'm here."

"You say that now..." Lorelai started, but Rory cut her off.

"No, always. We're a team, you and me, like Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde."

"You're comparing us to a couple of criminals?" Lorelai asked, but there was a small smile on her face.

"You get the point." Rory replied. "You can tell me." She repeated, emphasizing every word.

"OK." Lorelai said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You remember how, when you were little, you'd nag and nag at me every Christmas and birthday about how you wanted a little brother or sister?"

"Yeah..." Rory replied in a wondering tone.

"Well, I know it's a little late, but..."

"You're pregnant?" Rory cut her off, and Lorelai nodded. "This is great!" Rory exclaimed, throwing her arms around her mother.

"Yeah." Lorelai replied in a not too excited voice, and Rory pulled back.

"Wait, are you not happy about this?" She asked. "Is that why you were crying before, you don't want it?"

"No, honey, never. I want this, I really, really do, it's just..." Lorelai didn't finish the sentence, but Rory seemed to understand.

"It's everything with Luke, right? That you two aren't together, him not being here?" It wasn't as much a question as a statement.

"Yeah." Lorelai confirmed. "It's just, I always thought that it'd be different, if I ever decided to have another kid. Not that I'm not happy about the way things turned out last time, it's just... I don't want to do it alone again."

"You're not alone." Rory assured her. "You've got me, and Sookie, and everyone in town, and Grandma and Grandpa..." At the mentioning of her parents, Lorelai let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I'm sure they'll be thrilled." She said, rolling her eyes.

"You don't know, they might surprise you." Rory replied. "And I'm sure Luke'll come back when he finds out."

"Yeah, that's just the thing." Lorelai said, her eyes on the floor.

"You're not going to tell him? Mom, you have to!"

"Of course I'm going to tell him." Lorelai replied. "If I ever get a hold of him."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked, frowning.

"Well, I've called his cell phone so many times over the past couple of days that he could probably have me arrested for stalking." Lorelai joked. "And all I've gotten is that annoying voice, you know, telling you the number can not be reached."

"That's it?" Rory said, staring at her mother. "His cell is turned off, so you just say 'well, whatever'?"

"No, but what else am I supposed to do?" Lorelai wondered. "I'll keep calling him, but I doubt he'll turn the phone on, he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"How do you even manage to get out of bed in the morning?" Rory pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. Apparently someone picked up, because she spoke. "Hey, Jess, how's everything?"

"You're calling Jess?" Lorelai whispered, trying to take the phone away from her daughter. Rory just got up and walked into the kitchen, Lorelai following. "You can't tell him!"

"I won't." Rory said, her hand covering the phone, before walking into her room and closing the door behind her. Lorelai pressed her ear against the door to hear what she was saying.

"Sorry, just my mom. So you were saying about the book... really, that's great... are you serious... of course I want to go, wait when is it... no I'm free... he's in London... I'm not lying... do you want me to go with you or not... OK, Saturday at five, I'll be here... listen, I actually have an ulterior motive to calling you... I'm sure your ego will recover... have you heard anything from Luke... no, he left town two weeks ago and we haven't heard from him... oh... no, I just, my mom really needs to talk to him, that's all... you'll tell him to call if you hear from him... oh, what's your mom's number... thanks... so see you Saturday."

Rory opened the door and Lorelai almost fell into the room.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to listen in on private conversations?" Rory asked, walking back into the living room.

"My mother taught me a lot of stuff I've managed to suppress." Lorelai replied happily, following Rory from the kitchen. "So, what'd he say?"

"You heard everything through the door, why are you asking?" Rory grabbed the remote and flopped down on the couch, turning the TV on.

"But I only heard your side of the conversation." Lorelai complained, sitting down next to her daughter. "And what's Saturday?"

"Jess has these tickets to Belle & Sebastian in New York this Saturday, and he asked me to go with him." Rory replied in a casual voice.

"What about Logan?"

"What about Logan? I can go to a concert with an old friend if I want to." Rory shrugged. "I thought you wanted to know what he said?"

"I do, so tell me." Lorelai requested.

"OK, so Jess hasn't heard anything from Luke since he saw him in Philadelphia." Rory said, noticing a shadow running over Lorelai's face at the memory of April's field trip. "He didn't even know that he had left town. But he promised to tell Luke to call you if he heard anything from him, and I got Liz's number." She handed Lorelai a piece of paper.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Lorelai asked, taking the paper and staring at it.

"You are supposed to call her, she might know more than Jess." Rory replied. "Or do you want me to do it?" She picked up the portable phone from the coffee table.

"No, no, I should probably talk to her myself." Lorelai took the phone from Rory.

"Good girl." Rory said, and Lorelai gave her a crooked smile.

"Do I get a cookie?" She joked, getting up and taking the phone with her into the kitchen. She dialed the number and waited, leaning against the counter.

"Hello?"

"Hey, T.J., it's Lorelai, is Liz there?" She said when she heard T.J.'s voice.

"Why?" He asked in a suspicious voice. He probably knew about the break-up.

"Can I just talk to Liz, please?" Lorelai asked.

"Fine." She heard T.J. call for Liz, and then the other woman's voice came over the line.

"Hello?"

"Liz, hi, it's Lorelai." Lorelai said, expecting the same treatment as she had gotten from T.J.

"Oh, hi Lorelai, how are you?" Liz asked in a friendly voice, surprising Lorelai.

"Fine, I guess... wait, you're not mad at me or anything?" Lorelai couldn't keep herself from asking. Liz laughed a little.

"No, and I'm sorry about T.J., he's just very protective of me, and, in extension, my family." She explained. "I know that it wasn't your fault, the break-up, there was just too much going on. I understand."

Lorelai let out a breath that she had been holdingin.

"Thanks, Liz, you don't know how much that means to me." To her annoyance, she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes again, and she angrily wiped them away.

"So, did you just call to chat, or is there something I can do for you?" Liz asked.

"I was actually wondering if you had heard anything from Luke?" Lorelai asked, and she could hear Liz hesitating for a moment. Lorelai realized Luke had probably told Liz not to tell her anything.

"I talked to him last week." Liz finally said.

"Last week? Is he OK? Where is he? Did he say when he's coming back? Did he mention..."

"Whoa, back up a couple of steps there, honey." Liz cut Lorelai off. "We didn't talk for long, he just called to let us know he wasn't dead or anything. Anyway, he sounded OK, you know, not great, but what do you expect? He didn't tell me where he was, and he doesn't know when he'll be back."

Lorelai was quiet for a moment, taking in everything Liz had just told her.

"He said he didn't know when he'd be back?" She then asked, her voice barely holding together.

"I'm sorry, hon." Liz said in a sympathetic voice. She didn't care what had happened between Lorelai and her brother, she still considered the other woman a friend. "I think he just needs some time to... deal with everything, you know? My brother's not the greatest when it comes to handling difficult situations like this."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Lorelai agreed, though she didn't really think so.

"Are you going to be OK?" Liz asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Lorelai told her. "Just... if you talk to him again, could you tell him to call me? I need to talk to him."

"Sure thing." Liz assured her. "You take care now, OK? And call me if you need anything, or just want to talk."

"Thanks Liz."

"Anytime." Liz hung up the phone and Lorelai did the same, sitting down at the kitchen table with the phone still held tightly in her hand. She heard Rory come into the kitchen, but didn't look up.

"So? What did she say?" Rory inquired, sitting down opposite from Lorelai.

"She talked to him last week." Lorelai revealed.

"And? Where is he?"

"He didn't say. All Liz said was that he sounded OK and that he didn't know when he'd be back." Lorelai told her daughter, and they sat in silence for a few minutes before Rory spoke.

"I'll ask Lane to tell him to call you, he has to call the diner eventually." She said, giving her mother an insecure look before continuing. "You know, there is someone else you haven't considered..."

"I've considered it." Lorelai cut her off, knowing who she was talking about. And sure, it made sense. Luke would want April to be able to get in touch with him. "I've considered it, and I just can't. Not now, anyway. I'll just give it a couple of weeks, and if I don't hear from him..."

"You'll call her?" Rory asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"I'll call her." She agreed, secretly hoping she wouldn't need to. She wasn't sure that she could.


	4. 3 Telling the parents

**3 - Telling the parents**

"Are you ready?" Rory asked, as she and Lorelai stood outside the Gilmore house.

"If I say no, can we leave?" Lorelai tried, only getting a glare from Rory. "Fine, but I'm not ringing the doorbell."

"No problem." Rory reached out and pressed the doorbell.

"Jeez, give a girl a minute, will you?" Lorelai complained, but Rory just ignored her.

"Yes?" A tall, blonde girl opened the door.

"Hi, we're here for dinner, they're expecting us." Rory said, and the maid stepped aside to let them into the house.

"This way, please." She said.

"You are going to tell them, right?" Rory whispered as the maid led them into the living room where Emily was waiting for them.

"Yes, mother." Lorelai replied in a hushed voice, not wanting Emily to hear her.

It was now mid August, and Rory had spent the past month trying to convince her mother that she needed to tell Emily and Richard about the baby. Lorelai had so far been able to use the excuse that she didn't want to jinx anything, since it was considered bad luck to talk about a pregnancy during the first three months. The fact that Emily and Richard had spent the past couple of months in Europe had also helped her case. But now, those months had passed without any problems, and the Gilmores were back from Europe.

Since people were bound to start noticing in a not too distant future, Lorelai had finally agreed that it was time to tell the parents. That didn't mean that she was looking forward to it, though, something that Rory was painfully aware of after the thirty minute drive from Stars Hollow.

"Lorelai, Rory, it's good to see the two of you." Emily said as they entered the living room.

"Hi, Grandma, how was Europe?" Rory asked, giving her grandmother a hug.

"Europe was wonderful, as always." Emily replied, walking over to the drink cart. "What can I get you girls?" She asked pouring herself a glass of whine.

"Just a coke for me, Grandma." Rory said. She didn't think it would matter if she was fifteen or thirty five, the thought of drinking alcohol in front of her grandparents was just too weird.

"And you, Lorelai?" Emily handed Rory her coke.

"I'll have the same, thanks." Lorelai said, getting a strange look from Emily, but she apparently decided to let it go.

"So, Rory, how is the internship going?" Emily asked, handing Lorelai her soda and sitting down on the sofa opposite from Lorelai and Rory.

"It's really good, Grandma. I'm having so much fun and learning a lot." Rory replied.

"And Lorelai, how are things at the inn?" Emily turned her attention to Lorelai.

"They're great, mom. Listen, where's dad?" There was no way she was doing this twice.

"He had some important call from Japan or somewhere." Emily replied in an irritated voice. "Richard!" She then called in the direction of his study. "Are you joining us any time today?"

"I'm here, Emily, no need to yell." Richard said, entering the living room. "Lorelai, Rory, it's good to see you."

"Hey, Grandpa." Rory said, standing up to give her grandfather a hug. "Did you have fun in Europe?"

"Oh, yes, it was wonderful." Richard replied. "Your grandmother has a whole album of photos. I'm sure she'd love to show you."

"Hey dad." Lorelai piped up from the sofa.

"Lorelai, how are you?" Richard said, sitting down next to Emily.

"Well, actually..."

"Now?" Rory cut her off in a low voice.

"Now is as good a time as any, don't you think?" Lorelai replied in a whisper.

"Shouldn't you at least wait until after dinner?" Rory asked.

"I just want to get this over with." Lorelai explained, giving Rory a pleading look.

"Fine, but if we have to leave you're paying for dinner."

"Don't I always?" Lorelai gave her parents a smile. "Sorry about that."

"You know, it's very impolite to whisper." Emily complained.

"I'm sorry, Grandma, it was my fault." Rory offered, and Lorelai gave her a grateful look. "Anyway, mom has something she wants to tell you." Both Emily and Richard turned their attention to Lorelai.

"OK, I might as well just say it." She started. "But before I do, I just want to say that if you can't support me in my decision or if you in any way disrespect it – and that includes lectures, disappointed comments and everything else like that – then I will have no choice but to cut you out of my life. And believe me, I'm serious."

"Now, Lorelai, don't be so overdramatic." Richard interjected. "Of course we don't want that."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Lorelai said under her breath before continuing. "OK, now that that's over with..." She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Both Emily and Richard stared at her for a few moments, and then Emily was the first to speak.

"You're pregnant?" She said, her voice emptied of any emotions.

Lorelai only nodded, waiting for the lecture she knew would come. But Emily didn't say anything else.

"Well, that's wonderful news." Richard said, surprising the three women in the room.

"It... it is?" Lorelai said, dumbfounded.

"Isn't it?" Richard replied.

"Well... I guess... yeah." Lorelai finally managed, still in shock from her father's words. He was actually happy about it?

"This calls for champage." Richard announced standing up. "Non alcoholic for you, of course." He added, giving Lorelai a stern look. "Liesel, three glasses of champagne and one sparkling water." He called in the direction of the kitchen and then sat down again. Emily was still staring in front of her, lost in space.

"Mom? You OK?" Lorelai snapped her fingers in front of Emily's face.

"What? Oh, I'm fine." She replied, coming out of her daze.

"Well..." Lorelai said, dragging the word out.

"I don't know what you want from me?" Emily refused to meet Lorelai eyes.

"I just want a hint here, happy, furious, anything." Lorelai insisted. Emily was silent for a moment, apparently thinking of something to say that didn't sound too condescending.

"If this is what you want, then I guess I am happy for you." She finally came up with, and Lorelai decided to believe her, at least for the moment. She knew Emily was not too happy with the situation, but she also knew that she would come around, and maybe that was all she could ask for at the moment.

"Ah, champagne." Richard said, standing up and taking two of the glasses that the maid had carried into the living room on a silver tray. He handed them to Emily and Rory and then took the remaining two glasses.

"This one is the sparkling water, sir." The maid said, indicating the glass in his left hand. Richard nodded and handed the glass to Lorelai before raising his own.

"To a new member of the Gilmore family." He said, smiling at his daughter and granddaughter. "May he or she be as smart as their big sister."

"I'll drink to that." Rory agreed, taking a sip of her champagne, before frowning. "Right, I don't like champagne."

Emily raised the glass to her lips and dranksome of the liquid, but didn't say anything. Luckily for her, they were saved by the maid a moment later.

"Dinner is served in the dining room." She announced before leaving the room.

"Shall we?" Richard said, offering Rory his arm.

"We shall." Rory accepted, and Richard led her into the dining room, leaving Lorelai and Emily in the living room.

"So, mom, tell me what you really think." Lorelai said, her voice dry.

"I'm not going to lie and say that I'm happythat you've decided to have another child by yourself." Emily admitted. "But I trust you to make the right decision, it is your life after all."

"Thanks, mom." Lorelai said, knowing it was the most she'd get out of her mother that evening.

"I'm guessing the father is that diner owner of yours?" Emily assumed.

"His name is Luke, mom, and yes." Lorelai replied.

"I thought he was out of the picture?"

"He is." Lorelai replied, studying her shoes intently.

"Does he even know about this?" Emily asked.

"No, he doesn't." Lorelai admitted.

"You don't think that maybe you should tell him?"

"Jeez, mom, I hadn't thought about that!" Lorelai said sarcastically.

"There's no need to take that tone with me." Emily replied, frowning.

"Sorry, mom, it's just..." Lorelai sighed. "I don't know where Luke is. He left town about a month ago, and I haven't been able to reach him."

"He's left town?" Emily asked, as if she thought she'd misheard.

"Yes, mom, does that make you happy? He's out of our lives." Lorelai said, raising her voice and shooting Emily a pained look before walking out of the living room.

"Of course it doesn't." Emily replied quietly, but Lorelai was already out of earshot.

xxxxx

"The chicken was delicious, Grandma." Rory said an hour later, as the maid cleared their plates off the table.

"I'm glad you liked it, it's a recipe I picked up in Paris." Emily replied.

"Yeah, the chicken was great, mom." Lorelai agreed. "So, what's for desert?"

"Lorelai, you just had three helpings of chicken, aren't you full yet?" Richard asked in an amazed voice.

"Dad, how many times have we had dinner together in the past thirty eight years?" Lorelai said. "Haven't you realized by now that it takes a lot of food for me to even be in the vicinity of full. Plus, I'm eating for two now." She patted her stomach.

"Considering how much you normally eat, that should end well." Emily commented.

"Jeez, thanks mom." Lorelai said sarcastically.

"Didn't the doctor tell you to watch what you're eating?" Richard asked. "You have seen a doctor, right?"

"Of course I have, dad." Lorelai replied. "And all she said was no caffeine and cut own on the sugar, which I am."

"Can you imagine mom without coffee for six more months?" Rory said, giving Richard a fake look of horror.

"And the moodswings." He added, and they both started laughing.

"I just love entertaining you two." Lorelai said dryly.

"Sorry, mom." Rory said, holding back another laugh.

"Oh, you will be, when I send you out for weird food in the middle of the night." Lorelai threatened.

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh I would, and I will." Lorelai promised, enjoying the now truly horrified look on her daughter's face.

"But... but... I'll be at Yale!" Rory exclaimed, grateful to have found a loophole.

"So? Yale isn't that far away." Lorelai shrugged. "You're wishing you'd picked Harvard now, aren't you?" Rory was about to reply, but was interrupted by her cell phone. Checking the caller ID she gave her grandmother an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, it's Logan, is it OK if I take it?" She said, and Emily nodded.

"Of course, you take your time." She said, and Rory happily jumped up from her chair and left the room.

"How come Rory can answer her phone during dinner, and the minute my phone rings I get a lecture?" Lorelai asked.

"Logan is all the way over in England and I'm sure he's very busy with work, those two have to take every opportunity they get to talk to each other." Emily replied. "Thank you." She added to the maid who had just served desert.

"It's, like, two a.m. in England." Lorelai argued.

"Just eat your desert, Lorelai."

xxxxx

"Hello?" Rory answered the phone.

"Hey, Ace, hope I'm not interrupting anything." Logan's voice came over the line.

"Just Friday night dinner, so nothing important." Rory replied. "You actually saved me from mom."

"What's Lorelai up to now?"

"She was just telling me how I'd have to get up in the middle of the night to get whatever crazy food she wants at the moment." Rory explained. Logan knew about Lorelai's pregnancy, since Rory had needed someone to vent her insecure feelings about the situationto every now and then.

"It's just until you go back to school in a few weeks." Logan tried to cheer her up.

"Oh, no, I tried that too." Rory said. "She says she'll call me even then, since Yale isn't that far from home."

"She's just pulling your leg." Logan said, laughing a little.

"Man, I hope so." Rory replied. "So, enough talk about my mother, how is everything on the other side of the Atlantic?"

"Everything's good, just got back from another board meeting." Logan said.

"At two in the morning? On a Friday night?" Rory asked.

"I tell you, I didn't think these meetings could get any worse, but try listening to a guy going on and on about how many readers the paper has lost over the past month after being up for nineteen hours straight."

"Poor baby." Rory said in a childish tone.

"I'm not complaining too much though." Logan said, and Rory scoffed. "What? I don't, do I?"

"Oh, of course not." Rory said in a sarcastic voice.

"OK, I'm sorry. But I actually called with some good news." Logan revealed.

"I like the sound of that." Rory replied.

"What are you doing in about four months?" Logan asked.

"Probably living on coffee to get through finals." Rory reasoned.

"OK, but after finals."

"I'm spending Christmas with mom in the Hollow, why?" Rory could feel her heart starting to beat a little faster. Was he saying what she hoped he was?

"Well, how about I join you?" Logan suggested.

"You want to spend Christmas with my mother?" Rory asked in astonishment.

"If it means I get to spend it with you, yeah." Logan replied.

"That's so sweet." Rory gushed. "And I would love to spend Christmas with you. I'll have to run it by mom, but I don't think she'll have any objections."

"Good, then it's settled." Logan concluded. "Now, I'm flying in on the fifteenth, but I have to spend a couple of days with the Addams first, so how about I pick you up after your finals are done and we head out to Stars Hollow together?"

"That sounds great." Rory agreed. "And I think it's rude to call your family 'the Addams'."

"I would never do it to their faces."

"Oh, sure."

"Now, I've gotta get some sleep or I won't be able to function tomorrow." Logan said. "Talk to you on Sunday?"

"Talk to you then." Rory hung up the phone and went back into the dining room.

"What did Loooogan want?" Lorelai asked.

"He just told me he'd be home for Christmas." Rory replied, ignoring the silly voice her mother had used.

"Isn't that romantic? I could just die!" Lorelai's comment earned her a glare from Emily. "What?"

"Sometimes I wonder who the child in your family is." Emily said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah yeah." Lorelai replied, checking her watch. "Hey, hurry up to finish desert, we have to go."

"It's only eight thirty." Emily objected.

"I have to stop by the inn to check on a couple of things, there's a big wedding tomorrow." Lorelai explained, and Emily raised an eyebrow. "What? It's true! Rory, tell her."

"Really, Grandma, there is a wedding tomorrow, and Sookie would completely freak out if we didn't check to make sure everything has arrived. It's the only way mom could convince her to take the evening off, otherwise she'd have slept in the kitchen." Rory confirmed, finishing the last of her chocolate cake.

"Oh, fine. You can leave." Emily obliged.

"Thanks, mom." Lorelai said, standing up.

"I'll see you next week." Emily said, walking towards the stairs. "Goodnight."

"Night, Grandma." Rory replied.

Richard escorted Lorelai and Rory into the foyer.

"Rory, why don't you go start the car, I want to speak to your mother for a moment." He told Rory, who gave Lorelai a questioning look. Lorelai nodded that it was OK.

"OK, night Grandpa." Rory gave Richard a hug before leaving and closing the door behind her. A moment later they heard the car start.

"What is it, dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Your mother will come around." He said, giving her a small smile.

"I know, I get it. I just sprung this on you without any warning, I get that she was... surprised." Lorelai decided to go with.

"Emily will always be Emily, but I know she'll love this child as much as she does Rory." Richard assured his daughter. "It'll just take her some time getting used to the idea. And I will talk to her."

"Thanks, dad." Lorelai said. "For at least pretending to be happy for me. You did a good job."

"I am most certainly not pretending." Richard said, sounding a little offended. "I think it will be nice with another child around. And though it may not be under the best circumstances, this child will not want for anything as long as I am around." He pulled out a check book from his pocket. "Now, I know your house is rather small, and there's no bedroom except yours and Rory's, so you should consider having an extension built."

"I already have, but it's pretty expensive." Lorelai admitted.

"I am writing you a blank check." Richard said, scribbling on the check book. "You get in contact with a good contractor and fill in the amount he asks for. And if there's anything else that you need, you call me." He handed Lorelai the check.

"Dad, I can't take this." She objected, trying to give the check back.

"You most certainly can." He insisted. "I... overheard your talk with your mother earlier and I understand that Luke is not in the picture."

"No, he's not." Lorelai confirmed. "But I can do this, I don't need your help."

"I know you don't, you never did." He gave her a pleading look. "Please, let me do this."

Lorelai's expression softened as she realized her father really wanted to help her, and not for any selfish reasons.

"OK." She put the check in her purse. "Thanks, dad." She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome."

"Bye." Lorelai closed the door behind her and got in the passenger seat of the jeep.

"What did he want?" Rory asked, pulling out of the driveway.

"He gave me a check." Lorelai said, still amazed by her dad's words.

"A check?"

"Yeah. He told me to get a contractor on building an extension, and to fill out the amount I needed." Lorelai pulled the check from her purse and showed it to Rory.

"A blank check? Wow." Rory commented.

"Yeah, wow." Lorelai agreed.

"The Gilmore's never cease to amaze you." Rory said, and Lorelai nodded.

They drove in silence for a little while before Rory spoke again.

"So, two down, three to go, huh?" Lorelai groaned in response.

"Don't remind me!"

xxxxx

Emily was watching through a narrow opening in the curtains as Lorelai and Rory drove away. Letting the curtain slide closed, she turned around as her husband came into the living room.

"You could have at least tried to sound happy for her." Richard chided.

"She completely surprised us, what did she expect?" Emily asked. "Not everyone is as good an actor as you, Richard."

"Is it that hard for everyone to believe that I might actually be happy to have another grandchild?" Richard shook his head. "We have another chance now, Emily, to see this child grow up, be a part of his or her life, in a way we never got to do with Rory." He gave her a pleading look. "Please, try not to ruin this."

Emily stood rooted to the spot as Richard left the salon, his words running through her mind. Did he really think that she would intentionally do something to cause Lorelai to remove herself from their lives? But why wouldn't he, it was mainly her fault that it had happened twenty-two years earlier.

Sighing, she looked out the window in the direction of where Lorelai's car had disappeared, and she made a decision. No matter what it took, she would do things the right way this time. She would respect Lorelai's decision and be happy for her. Feeling a smile form on her face, she realized it wasn't going to be too hard. She was already excited about the new grandchild.


	5. 4 No touching of the stomach

**4 – No touching of the stomach**

Lorelai had decided that she would just keep going after telling her parents. She knew that she would have to tell everyone, meaning the town, pretty soon, but there were a few people that she wanted to tell in person.

Over the past month, Lorelai and Liz had gotten pretty close. At first, Lorelai would call every other day to ask if Liz had talked to Luke, and after a week or so, Liz had suggested that they make a standing coffee date so Lorelai wouldn't have to call all the time.

Lorelai had been happy that Liz wanted to hang out with her, but it had been hard not to reveal her pregnancy over the past three weeks, considering Liz very seldom changed the subject from her and T.J.'s baby, who was due in December. But today, Lorelai was going to tell her. How she was going to do it, she hadn't really figured out yet, but she hoped it would come to her.

As soon as she got up, which was at ten thirty since it was Saturday, Lorelai dialled Liz's number from memory.

"Hello?"

"Liz, hey, it's Lorelai." Lorelai was twirling the phone cord around her finger as she spoke. Realizing what she was doing, she stopped abruptly. She was apparently more nervous than she thought.

"Oh, hi Lorelai, I was just about to call you." Liz replied. "Hey, maybe we're telepathic or something?"

"Then we wouldn't need phones, would we?" Lorelai joked.

"I guess not. It'd be cool, though, wouldn't it?"

"Sure would." Lorelai agreed, wanting to get on with the conversation. "Listen, I was actually calling to see if you're free for lunch?"

"Lunch would be great, T.J. just left for Boston." Liz said.

"Boston? What's he doing there?" Lorelai asked.

"Some convention thing, I didn't want to know more." Liz replied.

"Probably a good decision."

"So, anyway, one good for you?" Liz suggested.

"One is fine with me." Lorelai said.

"OK, you wanna eat at the diner, or maybe Westons?" Liz asked.

"I was actually thinking we could go into Hartford." Lorelai replied. She knew they would be overheard wherever they went in Stars Hollow, and she didn't want the town to know just yet. "Maybe go to the mall, and do some shopping later?"

"That sounds good, I need to get some stuff anyway." Liz agreed.

"OK, so I'll pick you up at one then?" Lorelai said, knowing T.J. had probably taken the car.

"See you then. Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai hung up. Looking at the clock, she found that she had a little over two hours before she needed to leave. Deciding she needed a movie to calm her nerves down a little, she went into the living room.

xxxxx

"So the doctor was sure it's a girl?" Lorelai asked as she and Liz sat down at a table in the food court.

"As sure as he could be." Liz replied. She had had a sonogram the previous day to determine the sex of the baby. "Of course, they can't be a hundred percent positive, but I've thought it was a girl ever since I found out."

"Yeah, I had the same feeling with Rory." Lorelai agreed. "So, how're you holding up? It's pretty hot for August." Liz was only five months along, but already had a cosiderable bump.

"I tell you, if it wasn't for the air conditioner, I don't think I would make it." Liz admitted. "I just hope it gets cooler soon."

"Yeah, summer pregnancy isn't too pleasant." Lorelai remembered how horrible it had been being pregnant with Rory those last couple of months. That summer had been extremely hot. "I'm just glad I managed to time it a little better this time." She continued, not realizing what she was saying until it was too late.

Liz looked up from her food, her eyes wide.

"What did you say?" She asked, a baffled look on her face.

"Oh, God, I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Lorelai said, cursing herself on the inside.

"You mean... you're pregnant?" Lorelai nodded her response. "That's great!" Liz continued. "Now we can be pregnancy buddies, and our kids will grow up together and be best friends and cousins."

"Yeah, great." Lorelai agreed, not sounding too convinced.

"So that's why you've been trying to get a hold of him, huh?" Liz put two and two together.

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded. "I didn't find out until after he left."

"Do you want me to... tell him?" Liz asked, but Lorelai shook her head.

"No, I think he should hear it from me." She explained.

"I get that." Liz agreed. "I will, however, give him a big push in the direction of the phone next time I talk to him."

"Thanks." Lorelai said, taking a bite of her cheesburger.

"This is so exciting, now we can go baby shopping together and everything!"

xxxxx

"Hello?" Liz said into the phone.

"Hey, Liz."

"Hey, big brother, what's up?" Liz asked, in her mind trying to figure out the best way to get Luke to call Lorelai.

"Just calling to check in." Luke replied. "How's everything in the Hollow?"

"Everything's good." Liz told him. "We found out that the baby is a girl yesterday."

"Really? That's great, I know you've always wanted a daughter." Luke remembered.

"Yeah. We're excited. So, how're you? Where are you?"

"Liz, please, I don't..."

"OK, dropping the subject." Liz surrendered. Luke hadn't wanted to tell her where he was before, but she thought that maybe he'd decided to come out of hiding. "So, is everything OK?"

"Everything's fine, I just wanted to check up on my baby sister."

"You know who else you might want to check up on?" Liz said, steering the conversation to Lorelai.

"Liz, just drop it." Luke replied in a warning tone.

"I don't understand why you can't just call her." Liz insisted.

"Because I don't want to talk to her, that's why."

"Why not?" Liz carried on.

"We have nothing to say to each other." He said.

"Even if I tell you that you will, without a doubt, regret that you haven't called her later?" Liz said. She knew Lorelai didn't want her to tell Luke, but she could at least hint a little.

"I'm pretty sure I won't regret it." Luke replied.

"Just call her!"

"No!"

"Fine." Liz surrendered for the moment. "But don't think for a second that I'm done with you."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Liz could practically hear Luke rolling his eyes.

"Bye, big brother."

"Bye, Liz, I'll talk to you in a couple of days."

xxxxx

"Mom? You home?" Rory called, entering the house.

"Kitchen, babe!" Lorelai called back, and Rory made her way through the living room.

"Hey." She said, getting herself a cup of coffee before joining her mother at the kitchen table.

"How's Lane?" Lorelai asked, patting Paul Anka who was sitting under the table, his head in Lorelai's lap.

"She's fine." Rory replied, more interested in hearing about her mother's 'lunch date'. "So how'd Liz take the big news?"

"She was thrilled, ecstatic even." Lorelai replied.

"And you're not happy about that because..."

"I don't know, I am, it's just, it reminded me that... you know, no matter how many people I have that are there for me, I'm still doing this alone." Lorelai said.

"You're not alone, you have me." Rory argued.

"Oh, I know honey, but it's... not the same." Lorelai explained.

"I know that, but I'm still here." Rory gave her mother a hug before walking into her room to drop her backpack. "Hey, did you call Tom yet?" She yelled into the kitchen.

"No, I thought I'd wait until the secret was out." Lorelai said.

"I guess that makes sense." Rory came back into the kitchen. "And have you called..."

"Not yet." Lorelai cut her off. She knew who Rory was talking about. The person she'd been dreading to call for the past month, and had promised herself not to contact unless it was her very last resort. Which it appeared to be.

"You still want to tell Anna in person?" Rory asked. "You know I'd be happy to do it. Or you can do it over the phone. A letter would probably do just fine, too."

She had offered to do that ever since Lorelai had revealed that she wanted to tell Anna about the baby, to give her the possibility to decided whether or not she wanted April to know her little brother or sister.

"I think I need to do it myself." Lorelai now said. She wasn't sure why she wanted to, but she felt that somehow she and Anna had unfinished business. It still hurt her to remember what Anna had said to her when they had met.

"OK." Rory said, not questioning her mother's decision. "So, are you going to call her?"

"Yes, I just need to work up some courage first." Lorelai said.

"And what have you been doing for the past couple of hours, staring at the wall?"

"Fine, I'll call her." Lorelai surrendered. "Might as well get it over with." She reached for the phone, dialling the number to the directory enquiries, since she didn't have Anna's phone number. "Yes, I'd like to have the number for Anna Nardini in Woodbridge, Connecticut." She told the operator, who connected the call.

"Hello?" A voice came over the line.

"Anna? This is Lorelai Gilmore."

"Oh." Lorelai could tell that Anna had not been expecting her to call. And she didn't sound too happy, either. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was wondering if we could get together, maybe have lunch or something?" Lorelai suggested. She did not want to do this over the phone.

"Why?" Anna asked, and Lorelai couldn't blame her. In Anna's eyes, there was no reason for the two of them to have anything to do with each other, especially now that Lorelai and Luke weren't together anymore, which Lorelai suspected Anna was well aware of.

"There's something I want to talk to you about, and I want to do it face to face." Lorelai explained, hoping Anna would settle for that.

"I guess I could meet you for lunch on Monday." Anna said, and Lorelai let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." She said.

"Sure, no problem." Anna replied. "Do you want to come here, or should we meet somewhere in Stars Hollow?"

"How about I come to the store and we'll go somewhere close by?" Lorelai suggested.

"That's fine, there are a couple of good restaurants in the area." Anna said.

"OK, so I will see you Monday around noon then?"

"Monday it is." Anna agreed.

"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone, and put it on the table. "Step number one completed." She announced.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rory asked, for the thousandth time. "I mean, you have no obligation to Anna or April, not really."

"Would you have liked it if your dad hadn't told you about GiGi?" Lorelai asked, trying to get Rory to see her point.

"Well, no, but that was different." Rory argued. "Do you think that Sherry would have told me if she and dad weren't together anymore and he wasn't involved?"

"I'd like to think that she would, because I think it would be wrong to keep it from you."

"And if Anna doesn't want April to know?" Rory asked.

"Then at least it's her decision, and I've done the best I can."

If she was to be honest with herself, Lorelai didn't know whether she wanted Anna to let April know or not. But she knew she had to do this, or she'd regret it later on.

"OK, let's go over the plan one more time." She said, and Rory nodded.

"While you're in Woodbridge talking to Anna, I am going to tell Babette and Patty, who will no doubt spread the news faster than a forest fire in July." Rory started. "I will also tell them that you will not answer any questions about the 'L' word, so there's no point in even asking."

"Good, good." Lorelai agreed. "And what else?"

Rory thought for a moment.

"Oh, right, no touching of the stomach whatsoever." She remembered.

"Damn right." Lorelai said. "I do not understand why my stomach would be public property just cause I'm pregnant."

"I'm with you on that one." Rory agreed.

"I mean, it doesn't even feel that different." Lorelai kept rambling. "Just when the baby moves, and then **I **will choose who will be allowed to touch it."

"OK, mom, we've been over this and I get it." Rory intervened. "You don't have to convince me."

"Sorry, got a little carried away." Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "Hey, did youget the frame?"

"Yeah, I got it." Rory went into her room and returned with a plastic bag. She pulled out a photo frame decorated with little hearts in all different colors and handed it to Lorelai.

"Perfect." Lorelai announced, going into one of the kitchen drawers, and retrieving a picture before returning to the table.

"I think Grandma will love it." Rory said.

"I hope so." Lorelai replied, looking at the photo she had just put in the frame. It was a black and white picture from the ultrasound she had had the previous week. Another copy of it was pinned to the fridge. She had also gotten a third copy, which was the first picture in a 'baby book' she was putting together, that she hoped she would be able to give to Luke when he came back. If he came back. Hastilly, she pushed the thought aside. She didn't need to think about it right now.

"Hey, you still with me?" Rory asked, waving her hand in front of Lorelai's face.

"I'm here, just thinking." Lorelai replied, putting the picture frame with the photo back in the bag.

"Wanna talk about it?" Rory wondered, knowing the answer.

"Not really." Lorelai confirmed.

"OK. You know I'm here if you do?"

"Course, babe." Lorelai managed a small smile. "So, you in the mood for a movie night?"

"Always!"

xxxxx

Lorelai sat in the car, tapping her fingers against the wheel. She had been parked on the small Woodbridge street for fifteen minutes, and if she didn't get out of the car soon, Anna might wonder where she was. Or not. It wasn't like the other woman was thrilled about the lunch or anything.

Taking one last breath, Lorelai opened the car door and got out of the car, locking the door before she had a chance to change her mind. She didn't even know why she was nervous. If Anna didn't want to tell April, then that was fine, and if she did, that was OK too.

"Just get a grip." Lorelai mumbled to herself as she reached out to open the door to Anna's store. The jingle of the bell announcing a customer made Lorelai flinch, as it reminded her of another bell and the innumerable times she'd walked through the door it hung above.

"I'm closing for lunch in a moment." Anna said from the counter, not looking up.

"Yeah, it might be a good idea not to let the customers wander around unattended." Lorelai tried to joke, and Anna looked up.

"Lorelai, it's you." She said, a look Lorelai could notinterpret on her face. "I was just about to close up, so we can go." She locked the cash register and put the key in her pocket before walking ahead of Lorelai out of the store. After she had locked the door they continued down the street, exchanging meaningless pleasantries. A couple of minutes later, they were at a table in a small diner.

"I'm guessing you're wondering what I'm doing here." Lorelai said after they ordered their food.

"Is it that obvious?" Anna asked.

"No, not really, but I know I would be curious if it was me." Lorelai replied. "I assume Luke told you what happened?"

"That you guys broke up? Yeah, he did." Anna confirmed. "He didn't go into any details, though, just said it was over."

"So you saw him before he left town?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, he came over pretty late, wanting to see April since he was going to be gone for a while." Anna nodded.

"You don't know where he is now, do you?" Lorelai wasn't sure if Anna would tell her the truth, but she had to ask.

"No, I don't. He calls to talk to April every night, but he never tells her where he is or leaves a number."

"And would you tell me if you did know?" Lorelai wondered. Anna thought for a while.

"I'm not sure." She answered truthfully.

"Well, that's better than 'no'." Lorelai said.

"Did you just come here to ask about Luke, or is there something else?" Anna asked.

"There is something else." Lorelai admitted. "I'm not telling you this to put any pressure on you, or anything like that, I just want you to have the option of letting April know, OK?"

"OK." Anna said, not sure what she was accepting.

"So, here's the thing." Lorelai continued. "I'm pregnant. And I know that you probably couldn't care less, but I want April to be able to know her brother or sister. If you want that, of course." Lorelai leaned back in the booth, all energy had run off her.

Anna didn't say anything for a few moments, as the waitress brought their food.

"Thank you." She finally said, and Lorelai almost dropped her fork.

"What?" She asked, not sure she'd heard right.

"I said thank you." Anna repeated.

"OK. I had a lot of different scenarios in mind, but this, right here, was not one of them." Lorelai knew she sounded surprised, maybe even shocked. "What exactly are you thanking me for?"

"For telling me this, and for letting me decide if I want April to know or not." Anna explained. "You could have gone straight to her."

"I just wanted it to be your decision, I didn't want to put you in an awkward position." Lorelai said.

"And you culd have just not told me." Anna continued.

"That was never an option." Lorelai shook her head.

"Even after the way I talked to you last time?" Anna asked. "I know that I was being way too hard on you, and I realized that almost before I talked to you, but then Luke told me about you two breaking up, and I got to feel like I had done the right thing."

"I get why you were worried, I'm the same with Rory." Lorelai revealed. "Back upa couple of years ago, her dad got engaged and they had a daughter, and I remember wishing that Rory would hate her stepmom, because I was afraid of losing her. So I get it."

"I didn't know that." Anna replied.

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded. "So, how do you want to do this? Or do you even want to? I just got the impression..."

"I am going to tell April." Anna cut her off. "And then, maybe we should take things a little slow at first? Have dinner together, all of us, or something?"

"That sounds good." Lorelai replied, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.

"And then, after you and April get to know each other a little better, maybe she'd like to spend the weekend with you and... Rory, that's your daughter's name, right?"

"Yeah, Rory. That would be great, I think Rory and April would get along really well." Lorelai said.

"I'm sure they will, April wouldn't stop talking about Rory for weeks after the field trip to Philadelphia." Anna revealed. "She even said she wanted to go to Yale, just like her."

"Really?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah." Anna nodded. "I think this will work out really good. I know April will be thrilled about having a sibling."

"She'll practically get two for the price of one." Lorelai joked.

"It's not often you get a big sister when you're thirteen." Anna agreed.

"No, it's not." Lorelai replied. "Just one more thing. I think that Luke should hear about this from me, so if you could not say anything, and ask April not to mention it either?"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Anna assured her. "And I'll explain the situation to April, make sure she knows not to say anything. Do you want me to tell him to call you?"

"I don't think it would do any good, but sure, if you want to."

"I'll get April to nag him, too." Anna promised.

"Thanks." Lorelai smiled, and received a smile in return.

xxxxx

"April, hon?" Anna called as she entered the house later that night.

"Kitchen, homework." April replied, and Anna made her way into the kitchen where April was bent over a math book.

"You have a good day at school?" Anna asked, giving April a kiss on the head.

"Mmhmm." April was completely engrossed in the math problem in front of her.

"So, I had lunch with a friend today." Anna said, grabbing a bottle of water before sitting down at the table.

"Really?" April said, looking up and frowning.

"Oh, not a guy friend or anything." Anna hurriedly added.

"Oh. OK." April turned back to the book.

"It was actually with Lorelai." Anna revealed, which got her April's attention.

"Lorelai? You mean Luke's Lorelai?"

"Well, you know she's not really Luke's Lorelai anymore, but yeah." Anna confirmed.

"Why?" April asked, another frown forming on her face.

"Why not?" Anna replied, trying to sound casual.

"I just didn't think you liked her." April shrugged.

"Why would you think that?" Anna was surprised. She hadn't discussed Lorelai or her potential relationship with her daughter with April.

"I just heard when you and Luke were talking one day, and you said something about not wanting me to see her, so I just figured." April explained.

"You heard that?" April nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie, I never meant for you to hear."

"I know, it's no biggie." April shrugged again. "It's not like I'll ever see her again, not now."

"But you'd like to, wouldn't you?" Anna assumed. "You liked her, right?"

"I guess." April tried to not sound too excited. "I mean, she's nice, and funny, and easy to talk to."

"What if I told you that she'd like to see you again, get to know you better?" Anna asked. "And Rory too."

"Really?" A smile was slowly spreading on April's face. "But why? I mean, Luke's not here, so she doesn't have to."

"She wants to." Anna said. "And also because she's having a baby, your dad's baby, which would make you a big sister."

"Seriously?" April looked like she could hardly believe what her mom was saying. "I'm going to have a little brother or sister?"

"Not only that, you're going to have a big sister, too, kind of. You and Rory will be sort of like step sisters now."

"This is so exciting!" April threw her arms around her mother in a tight hug.

"I'm glad you think so." Anna smiled at her daughter's reaction. She had made the right decision by telling her.

"Hey mom?" April pulled back. "How come Luke left if they're having a baby?"

"Well, the thing is, Lorelai didn't find out about the baby until after he left, so Luke doesn't know." Anna revealed. "Which also means that you can not mention it when you talk to him, got it? Lorelai really wants to tell him herself."

"Of course, I won't say anything." April promised.

"Good." Anna nodded. "So, I thought that in order for both of us to get to know Lorelai and Rory better, we could have them over here for dinner on Sunday, how does that sound to you?"

"Great, I can't wait!"


	6. 5 They never cease to amaze you

**5 – They never cease to amaze you**

Lorelai had managed to avoid the towns people for almost twenty-four hours, by not leaving her house after coming home from Woodbridge the previous day. But if she didn't get to the inn soon, Michel would skin her alive.

She knew Rory had talked to Miss Patty and Babette the day before, so she didn't doubt that all of Stars Hollow would know by now. She had half expected people to be banging on the door the night before, but it had been a quiet night with lots of movies and junk food.

Still, she had to face the music sooner or later. Only she would prefer it to be later.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the front door and peeked out. No Babette on her porch or anywhere to be seen. Strange. She took a cautious step outside, but still nothing. Looking over at Babette and Morey's house, she noticed that the blinds were still closed. Were they asleep? But it was after ten?

Shrugging to herself, she closed the door behind her and walked to the car. As she reached for the handle, she remembered what the doctor had said about exercising more, so she decided to walk instead, she might as well enjoy the weather while it lasted.

As she got to the center of town, she was surprised to find it almost deserted. A few kids were riding their bikes in the streets and a young couple were sitting by the gazebo, watching a dog play, but other than that the square was empty. She could see Ceasar waiting on a few customers in the diner, but none of the usual breakfast rush. Weird.

Looking over at Miss Patty's dance studio, she noticed that the sliding doors were shut, and she couldn't hear any sounds coming from it. This was just getting more and more suspicious. Had the whole town come down with the flu or something?

Frowning, Lorelai continued her walk to the inn. Remembering she had forgotten her keys when she left the house, she called home to ask Rory to bring them by the inn later. But there was no answer.

"What the hell is going on?" She mumbled to herself, calling Rory's cell instead, but it went straight to voice mail. When she had left the house, Rory had still been in bed, dead to the world, but Lorelai knew that she never turned her phone off, even at night, in case Logan called.

As she walked up the steps to the inn, she checked her watch. Ten thirty-five. Michel would not be happy, but she could deal with him later. She opened the door and walked in, only to find the foyer deserted. Where the hell was Michel?

"Michel?" She called into the seemingly empty inn. "Sookie?"

"In the dining room!" She heard Sookie reply, and followed her voice.

"Do you know what's going?" She asked, pushing the door to the dining room, which never used to be closed, open. "The town's completely..."

"SURPRISE!" The entire room was filled with people, yelling and throwing confetti at her. Lorelai pressed her hand to her chest, thinking her heart would jump out of her body.

"My God, you scared me!" She exclaimed, but everyone just smiled.

"Were you surprised?" Rory asked, coming up to her.

"Surprised? That's the understatement of the year!" Lorelai replied. "What are you doing here, you were asleep when I left fifteen minutes ago?"

"I was just faking." Rory smiled mischievously. "Did I fool you?"

"You could say that." Lorelai nodded. "What is all this?"

"It's a baby shower, honey." Miss Patty announced, waving her hands around to show a table full of gifts and a large cake shaped like a stork. "When Rory told us, we knew we had to do something right away, or we wouldn't get the element of surprise."

"Oh, you got it alright." Lorelai replied, feeling her still overexcited heart beating way too fast.

"I'm sorry, we really didn't mean to scare you, especially not in your condition." Patty frowned, looking Lorelai up and down. "Maybe you should sit down?"

"No, I'm fine, just a little surprised is all." Lorelai smiled reassuringly.

"Hey, sugar, congratulations!" Lorelai heard from the crowd, and saw Babette rushing towards her. "We were so happy when Rory told us, we just couldn't wait to talk to you, but then Patty came up with this, and I thought, hey, what a great idea, why didn't I think of that? So here we are."

"Are you at least excited?" Rory asked, a small frown on her face.

"Oh, babe, I'm more than excited, this is amazing, I can't believe you guys would do this." Lorelai felt tears rising in her eyes. Damn pregnancy hormones! She angrily wiped at them.

"At a time like this, you need the whole town behind you one hundred percent." Kirk said, coming up to her. "We want you to know that we support you, no matter what Lu..."

"Kirk!" Lulu cut him off. "Sorry." She gave Lorelai an apologetic smile. "Remember what we said about mentoining the 'L' word?" They heard her lecture Kirk as she led him to the other side of the room.

Lorelai just smiled, amazed by the amount of care and love and support that could fit into a town the size of Stars Hollow. They never did cease to amaze her.

"Hey, hon, you have to try the cake!" Sookie said, giving Lorelai a hug. "I made it with this amazing..."

Lorelai tuned Sookie out for a moment, knowing she would go on about the cake for at least ten minutes. Allowing her thoughts to wander for a moment, she imagined what it would have been like if Luke had been there to share this with her.

"... and you haven't listened to a word I've been saying." Lorelai heard Sookie say in a hurt voice, and snapped out of the daydream.

"I'm sorry, Sook, I just got a little... sentimental or something, I guess." Lorelai said, squeezing Sookie's arm. "I can't wait to taste the cake."

"It's really good, I had a sneak taste earlier." A voice came from behind them, and they both turned around to find Liz and T.J.

"Liz, hi, I'm glad you're here." Lorelai gave her a hug.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Liz replied.

"T.J., how're you doing?" Lorelai asked, and T.J. shrugged. He was still a little hesitant towards Lorelai, but Liz was working on him.

"It's up and down." He now said.

"Ignore him." Liz said, taking Lorelai's arm, the one Sookie wasn't holding on to. "So, were you surprised?"

"Surprised? You have no idea." Lorelai replied.

"Good. Rory called me last night and told me, and I thought it was a great idea." Liz said. "This way the whole town can pitch in a little, I know they really want to."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Lorelai nodded. "I can't believe the amount of presents."

"Oh, I know, there's like hundreds." Liz agreed.

"Hey, Lorelai, there's someone here who wants to see you." Sookie said, looking in the direction of the foyer.

"Other than the entire town?" Lorelai joked, following Sookie's gaze. A small smile spread on her face, and she detached herself from Sookie and Liz, walking over to the new arrivals. "Mom, dad, hi. What are you doing here?" She said, giving her father a hug, and then, slightly more uncomfortable, hugging her mother as well.

"Well, Rory called us last night, and we just couldn't miss it." Richard said, holding up a large wrapped box. "Where can I put this?"

"I think it goes on the table over there." Lorelai said, indicating the table overcrowded with gifts. Richard went to free himself of his burden.

"This was a very nice gesture." Emily said.

"It was." Lorelai agreed. "I had no idea they had it in them."

"People surprise you, every now and then." Emily noted.

"They sure do." Lorelai nodded, looking at her mother. Their relationship seemed to be getting better, and she was grateful. They no longer fought every time they had to spend more than ten minutes in the same room, and Lorelai liked the change.

"It's nice to know that there are people here who care about you and Rory." Emily said. "Since you're father and I are all the way in Hartford."

"It's not that far away, mom." Lorelai countered.

"I know, but still."

xxxxx

"Hey, you having fun?" Rory asked an hour later, dropping down next to Lorelai on a couch.

"A blast." Lorelai replied. "Thank you." She squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

"Don't look at me, it was all Patty." Rory defended herself.

"I know, but thanks anyway."

"Aren't you glad we didn't go shopping for the nursery yet?" Rory asked.

Lorelai had put off buying furniture for the nursery, partly because the pregnancy was still in an early stage, but also because she didn't even know if she'd be able to add a nursery to the house. Now she had received gifts such as a crib, cradle, changing table, clothes in all colors and sizes, stuffed animals, toys and everything else she would ever need in the first six months of the baby's life.

"Sure am, kid." Lorelai answered, looking at the table were all the gifts were sitting. "Now I just need a nursery to put them in."

"I think I saw Tom around here somewhere." Rory said, looking around the room.

"Nah, I'll call him later." Lorelai waved aside. "This is a party."

"Exactly." Rory agreed, pulling Lorelai up from the couch. "Come on, let's go play 'pin the diaper to the baby'!"

xxxxx

Lorelai waited as the phone rang a couple of times before Tom's voice came over the line.

"Hello?"

"You really should answer your business phone a little more businessy." Lorelai joked.

"This from a woman who uses the word 'businessy' which I'm pretty sure isn't even a real word?" Tom replied.

"You got me." Lorelai laughed.

"So, what can I do for you?" Tom asked.

"I was wondering if you could do another proposition for an extention on my house?" Lorelai wondered.

"I thought you didn't have enough money?"

"Number one, never say that to a customer, number two, I've come into some unexpected money, and I really need that addition as soon as possible." Lorelai said.

"Sure, I'll get right on it." Tom agreed. "An extra room on the upper floor, right?"

"Actually, I'd like to add two rooms, one downstairs and one upstairs, if that's possible?"

"Where would you like the downstairs room?" Tom asked.

"I was thinking where the back porch is now, I mean, we don't really need it since we have the front one." Lorelai said.

"So off the kitchen, right?"

"Exactly." Lorelai confirmed.

"I'll get right on it, and I'll have a rough draft to you by tomorrow afternoon, that sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful, you're an angel." Lorelai replied.

"You're just saying that so I'll get the work done faster." Tom grumbled.

"That depends. Did it work?"

xxxxx

"Good evening." The door to the Gilmore house was opened, and Lorelai took a step back in surprise. She looked at Rory who had the same slightly shocked appearance that was no doubt on Lorelai's face as well. For the first time in the history of Friday night dinners, the same maid had opened the door two Fridays in a row.

"Good evening, we're here for dinner." Lorelai managed to get out.

"Oh, yes, of course. Please come in." The girl stepped aside to let them in.

"So, just out of curiousity, how long have you worked here now?" Lorelai couldn't keep herself from asking, earning a pinch in the side from Rory. "Ouch!"

"Don't ask her that!" Rory hissed, but the maid didn't seem to have noticed as she walked ahead of them towards the living room.

"I have been here ever since Mr and Mrs Gilmore came home from Europe, so almost two weeks now." She answered.

"Wow, that must be a new record." Lorelai mumbled, getting a frown over the shoulder from the maid. "Nothing."

"Do you think Grandma is sick?" Rory whispered.

"I don't know, but there must be something going on." Lorelai replied in the same hushed tone.

"Lorelai, Rory!" Emily explaimed as they entered the living room. "How wonderful to see you!"

"It's nice to see you too, mom." Lorelai replied, returning her mother's enthusiastic hug a little less overexcited.

"How are you feeling, is everything alright?" Emily asked and Lorelai nodded.

"Everything's fine, the morning sickness seems to have finally stopped, so that's great." Lorelai answered.

"I remember morning sickness." Emily said, a slightly disgusted look on her face. "Oh, how I hated it."

"Tell me about it." Lorelai agreed. "Now, the only draw back is the fact that I can't drink coffee."

"Right, the doctor told you to stay off caffeine." Emily remembered.

"Well, that too, but it's not a problem since the mere smell of coffee makes me sick." Lorelai complained. "I don't know how I'll survive the next five and a half months."

"Or the rest of us." Rory said under her breath.

"I heard that!" Lorelai slapped Rory playfully on the thigh.

"Do I need to seperate you two?" Emily asked in a light voice.

"No, Grandma, we'll be good." Rory promised.

"Oh, girls, you're already here, good." Richard said, entering the living room.

"Hi Grandpa." Rory stood to give her grandfather a hug.

"Rory, it's good to see you. Are you excited about going back to Yale next week?" He asked.

"It's going to be great." Rory replied.

"You just want to get away from your crazy, hormonal mother." Lorelai said grumpily.

"I'm sure that's not true." Richard assured her. "Hello, Lorelai, how are you doing?"

"I'm great, dad, just caffeine deprived." Lorelai replied.

"Don't ask about it." Rory quickly intervened, and Richard frowned.

"Alright, I won't. Have you talked to a contractor about the extension?" He went with instead, and Lorelai nodded.

"I have, Tom gave me a suggestion the other day, I thought you could have a look at it before I gave him the check." She pulled out a couple of papers from her purse and handed them to Richard.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that, I trust you to make the right decision." Richard said, looking at the papers.

"Yeah, I just wanted you to make sure I wasn't getting ripped off or anything." Lorelai joked.

"Well, this looks quite alright." Richard said, giving the papers back to Lorelai. "I see you're adding two rooms?"

"Yeah, I want April to have a room if she wants to stay over sometime." Lorelai said. She hadn't mentioned the fact that April would be activelly involved in their lives to her parents yet.

"April? But that's..." Emily didn't fininsh the sentence, knowing Lorelai didn't like talking about Luke.

"Yeah, it is." Lorelai nodded.

"How come she knows about this?" Emily asked.

"I wanted her to have the option to know her brother or sister, so I talked to her mom who agreed to let her know." Lorelai explained. "Just think about it this way, how would Rory have felt if Sherry didn't want her to know GiGi?"

"Well, when you put it that way." Emily agreed.

"So we decided that we would get to know eachother over the next couple of months, and then April could spend weekends with us if she wanted to and stuff like that." Lorelai continued.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Richard nodded. "It's always nice with a big family."

"That reminds me." Lorelai said, giving Rory a nudge.

"Oh, right!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a neatly wrapped parcel, handing it to Emily.

"What's this?" Emily asked, looking at the present.

"Well, mom, in the modern world that is known as a present or a gift." Lorelai quipped, and Emily raised an eyebrow at her.

"I know what it is, Lorelai, I was just wondering what the occasion was?" She replied dryly.

"No occasion, just a little something for you and dad." Lorelai shrugged. Emily was still looking at her suspiciously. "It's not going to explode or anything, just open it!"

Emily finally started unwrapping the present, still a little cautious. When she finally had the picture frame in her hands, Lorelai could tell that she was touched.

"Is this...?" She asked, touching the picture carefully.

"It's a picture of the baby." Lorelai confirmed, and Emily smiled slightly.

"Let me see." Richard said, taking the picture from Emily. "I can't see a thing." He announced, and Emily snatched the photo back.

"Of course you can't you're a man!" She declared, going over to sit next to Lorelai and Rory.

"See, that's the head right there." Lorelai pointed, and Emily nodded.

"And look at those tiny feet!" She gushed, and Lorelai smiled at her father. He had been right in thinking her mother would come around.

xxxxx

"So? How long will it take?" Lorelai asked, following Tom around the kitchen. She had managed to convinve him to come over on a Saturday afternoon, wanting the work on the house to start as soon as possible.

"I will be able to make a much more accurate estimation if you stop following me around!" Tom exclaimed, and Lorelai paused for a moment.

"So how long?" She asked a couple of minutes later, and Tom sighed.

"About six weeks, give or take a little." He said.

"Six weeks?" Lorelai frowned a little. She had really hoped to have it done by the middle of September.

"I could have it done in four if you moved out, then we'd be able to work on both rooms at the same time." Tom offered, and Lorelai nodded.

"That sounds great, I'll stay at the inn or somewhere." She said, taking out the blank check from her father. "So, how much?"

xxxxx

"Hey, kid, you don't have to try on everything you own!" Anna called from the kitchen. April had been in her bedroom for the past hour, rejecting outfit after outfit. Anna didn't know what she was so nervous about.

"I'm done." April announced, coming into the kitchen wearing the first thing she had tried on over an hour earlier, a pair of embroided jeans and a pink top.

"You look really nice, sweetie, but what's with the big clothes problem?" Anna asked, stirring the pasta sauce she was cooking for their dinner with Lorelai and Rory.

"I just want them to like me." April said, looking at her feet.

"Oh, honey, why wouldn't they like you?" Anna frowned.

"I don't know." April said avoidingly.

"Oh, I think you do." Anna pushed.

"It's just... after the party, I thought we had a good time, but then Luke said that we wouldn't be seeing Lorelai, so I just figured she didn't like me. I know you told him that you didn't want me to see her, but I thought that she would at least argue about it." April's voice sounded small, and Anna inwardly cursed herself. She hadn't thought about how April would react to not seeing Lorelai after the party, all that had been on her mind was to protect her daughter from getting hurt.

"Well, looks like I have to make a confession." She said, putting the lid on the pot with the sauce and sitting down at the table. April followed, sitting down opposite her mother.

"What?" She asked.

"Remember how you overheard your dad and I talking about Lorelai?" Anna asked and April nodded. "Well, I also talked to Lorelai."

"You did?"

"Yeah. She came over, I guess Luke told her about what I'd said, and she wanted to explain the whole party thing and I basically told her that I didn't want her to see you."

"Why?" April frowned.

"I got scared that you would get really attached to her, and then when she and your dad broke up, you would get hurt." Anna explained.

"How could you know they would break up?" April asked.

"I didn't, not really, it was just a safety precaution." Anna reached across the table and took her daughter's hand in hers. "But I happen to know that she did like you, a lot."

"Really?" April's face brightened. "How?"

"Because she told me that you guys had a lot of fun, and that she really wanted to get to know you." Anna said.

"Really?" April repeated.

"Really really." Anna replied. At that moment, the door bell rang. "That's Lorelai and Rory. Why don't you let them in, I have to finish the food?" Anna went back to the stove, and April ran to open the door.

"Hi April." Anna heard two voices from the hallway, and then April's reply before the trio came into the kitchen.

"Hey you guys, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes." Anna said, turning the heat down on the sauce before turning to greet her guests. "Did you find it OK?"

"Yeah, it was easy." Lorelai said, and Rory frowned.

"Easy? You made four wrong turns!" She announced, getting the evil eye from her mother.

"Remember how we were going to keep that information to ourselves?" Lorelai asked in a sweet voice shooting daggers at her daughter. Anna laughed.

"Don't worry about it, eveyone who's not from the town has trouble finding their way at first." She reassured Lorelai, who smiled a little.

"Thanks." She said. "So, do you want any help?"

"Well, actually..."

"Do not let her near the stove!" Rory cut her off.

"Rory!"

"I don't think it's considered polite to burn your host's house down." Rory said, giving her mother a stern look.

"Fine." Lorelai surrendered, crossing her arms in front of her. Anna watched the scene between mother and daughter with a smile on her face. Their interaction reminded her so much of her relationship with April.

"I was actually going to say that you could set the table." She said, and Rory let out a sigh of relief.

"That I can do!" Lorelai announced, finding the plates in a cupboard.

xxxxx

"So, how is everything going with the pregnancy?" Anna asked half an hour later as they were eating.

"So far, so good." Lorelai said, swallowing a mouthfull of pasta. "The morning sicknes finally stopped, so it's pretty good."

"I never got morning sickness with April, people kept telling me how lucky I was." Anna said.

"That is so not fair!" Lorelai exlaimed. "I could hardly eat before ten for the first five months with Rory, though this time around was a little better."

"How far along are you?"

"About fourteen weeks." Lorelai said.

"So that would meen..." Anna counted on her fingers. "Sometime in February?"

"The doctor said around February fifth." Lorelai nodded.

"Do you know if it's a boy of a girl?" April asked.

"You can't really tell yet, it's too early." Lorelai explained. "And I think I want it to be a surprise. I think it's a boy, though. Just a feeling."

"Maternal instinct." Anna said in an understanding voice.

"Exactly." Lorelai nodded.

"A little brother, that's so cool." April announced. "Can I see him whenever I want?"

"Of couse you can, you'll be his or her big sister." Lorelai assured her.

"Should we tell her about the surprise?" Rory asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"What surprise?" April asked.

"Well, our house isn't that big, it's really just my room and mom's room other than the kitchen and living room." Rory said. "So we had to add a room for the baby, and while we were at it, we thought we'd add a room for you too, so you can stay over if you want to."

Lorelai looked over at Anna to see if she had a problem with the idea, but she was just smiling at the excited look on her daughter's face.

"Really? My own room?" She asked in awe.

"Yup. And you can decorate it anyway you want!" Rory continued. "And we're all going to help with the nursery, too."

"Really? Can I, mom, can I help decorate the nursery and my room?" She looked at her mother, excitement evident on her face, and Anna nodded.

"Sure you can, baby."

xxxxx

Later, when April had gone to her room to get ready for bed, and Rory was warming up the car, Lorelai and Anna were left alone on the front porch for a moment.

"Sorry about springing the whole room thing on you like that." Lorelai apologized, but Anna shook her head.

"It's not a problem. This way, she won't have to sleep on the couch." She reasoned.

"I was going to talk to you about it first, but we got a little carried away." Lorelai explained.

"Don't worry about it." Anna assured her. "We both know that she'll want to stay over a lot, so it's better that she has a room of her own."

"That's what I thought too." Lorelai agreed. "So you're OK with it?"

"For the last time, yes!" Anna exlaimed. "Is it always going to be like this, you being afraid of doing something I won't approve of?"

"I don't know." Lorelai replied honestly.

"I guess I have myself to blame for it." Anna reasoned. "All I can say is that things are different now. You and Rory and this baby will always be a part of our lives from now on, and I'm OK with that. More than OK actually. So don't worry about consulting me on every little thing that concerns April, OK?"

"OK, I won't." Lorelai said, relieved.

"Just give me a heads up if you're planning on selling her to the circus, OK?" Anna joked, and Lorelai joined in her laugh.

"Will do." She promised, a smile on her face. This was going to work.


	7. 6 Honorary Gilmores

**6 – Honorary Gilmores**

"So, what do you think?" Rory asked, taking a step back.

"It looks great." Lorelai replied, turning to April. "You like it?"

"I love it!" April announced, wiping a strand of hair from her face, whilegetting a stripe of paint on her cheek in the process. Lorelai wiped it off.

"You sure you want purple?" Lorelai asked for the fiftieth time. "Cause we could go with pink, or blue, or maybe green, that would be nice..."

"Lorelai!" April cut her off. "I LOVE IT!" She emphasized on every word.

"OK, good." Lorelai said, nodding.

"Now, you, out!" Rory ordered, practically shoving her mother out of the room.

"I was just looking." Lorelai defended herself.

"Doesn't matter, paint fumes are bad for the baby." April reasoned, following Lorelai and Rory into the living room. "I read about it."

"I know, but we have, like, every window open." Lorelai complained. "Can't I paint just a little?"

"NO!" April and Rory replied in chorus.

"But it's the nursery, I want to help paint the nursery." Lorelai whined.

"You can paint the finishing touches after the baby's born." Rory told her, and Lorelai decided to settle. She didn't want to do anything to endanger the baby, after all.

"Now, you sit down." April pushed Lorelai onto the couch. "I will bring you some lemonade and then Rory and I will start on the nursery, OK?"

"OK." Lorelai agreed grudgingly. "You do know I'm just pregnant, not a cripple, right?"

"Yeah, yeah." Rory said, following April into the kitchen to get something to drink.

Lorelai leaned back on the couch, her hand coming to rest upon her stomach where a small, but noticeable, bump had formed over the past couple of weeks.

Tom and his guys had finished the house a couple of days before, almost on the dot four weeks after they started construction. The girls had spent the previous day painting April's room, and were now going to continue with the nursery. Lorelai was put on strict supervision from a safe distance, since both April and Rory were convinced that the fumes from the paint would hurt the baby. Since Lorelai wanted to contribute to the nursery, and also wanted a little blue in it if the baby was, like she thought, a boy, and some pink for a girl, they had decided to add the final details after the baby was born.

"Here you go." April said, handing Lorelai a glass of lemonade.

"Did you make this?" Lorelai asked, glancing at Rory.

"Uh huh." April confirmed, and Lorelai took a sip.

"Tastes great." She said, earning a glare from Rory.

"I resent that." She said, frowning.

"You take after me, hon." Lorelai smiled, and Rory stuck her tongue out at her "Watch it, missy, you don't want to be a bad influence on your little sister, now do you?"

"I'll be scarred for life." April said dryly, walking up the stairs, Rory following closely behind.

"Call if you need help!" Lorelai yelled after them.

Rory and April had gotten really close over the past month, despite the fact that Rory was now back at Yale and only came home on the weekends. They were both excited about the new addition to the family, and spent every moment possible suggesting names or shopping for stuff for him or her.

Lorelai smiled to herself. Things had really turned out much better than she could have ever expected. What surprised her the most, was the fact that she and Anna had gotten almost as close as April and Rory. They had found that they had a lot in common, and enjoyed spending time together, with or without the kids, something Lorelai wouldn't have thought possible less than two months earlier.

Things were actually going pretty good in general. Lorelai was getting along better with her mother than she had in... well, ever. They had lunch together once or twice a week, since Emily wanted to keep herself updated on Lorelai's pregnancy. The weekly dinners were now more of a social engagement that Lorelai was actually looking forward to, than the obligation they had been just months ago.

The only downside was, of course, that she still hadn't been able to tell Luke about the baby. She knew that Liz still tried to get him to call her, since she told Lorelai every week that he was as stubborn as ever. Rory had also said that Lane was putting in her two cents whenever Luke called with instructions for the diner, and she strongly suspected that Anna gave him a piece of her mind every now and then.

But he still didn't call. Not that she really expected him to. But she still hoped, against hope, everyday that that day would be the one when he would finally break the long silence and pick up a phone.

Sighing, Lorelai pushed the thought to the side and took another sip of her lemonade. April sure got her cooking skills from her dad, though Anna wasn't too bad in the kitchen either.

Lorelai reached for the remote control and turned the TV on. The girls would probably take the whole day painting, she might as well keep herself busy.

xxxxx

"Hey, how're you guys doing?" Lorelai asked, coming into the nursery several hours later.

"We're done." Rory announced, looking around the room that was now painted a crisp white. They were adding borders and some other stuff later.

"Wow, you should consider a professional career." Lorelai joked, admiring their work.

"Good to know I have something to fall back on, if the journalist thing doesn't work out." Rory replied, closing the bucket of paint.

"We could start our own firm." April contributed.

"Gilmore/Nardini Inc." Rory nodded. "I like it."

"Yeah, yeah, should I order the pizza or what?" Lorelai asked impatiently. Her stomach had been growling for the past hour. They were having a slumber party to celebrate the 'new' house and to introduce April properly to the Gilmore family.

"Someone's testy." Rory teased.

"Hormones." Lorelai replied automatically.

"You blame everything from sleeping late to burning the toast on hormones." Rory noted.

"Yeah, well, when you have to carry around a kid for nine months, you'll be allowed a little complaining too."

"How considerate of you." Rory replied, leading the way downstairs. "What do we want on the pizza?" She asked, picking up the phone and dialling the pizza place.

"Pepperoni." April immediately answered.

"So, half pepperoni, half mushroom?" Rory gave her mother a questioning look.

"I want gummy bears on mine." Lorelai replied, and Rory raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't think they have that." She said, not missing a beat. Lorelai's weird food cravings had long ago stopped surprising Rory and April. "You'll have to add your own."

xxxxx

"So, have you thought about names yet?" April asked later, as they were all slumped down on the couch or the floor, watching 'The wizard of Oz'.

"Well, actually..." Lorelai started.

"You have? What are they?" Rory instantly sat up on the floor, and April crawled up on the couch next to Lorelai.

"I was thinking, for a boy, William Richard." Lorelai revealed.

"After Grandpa?" Rory asked, and Lorelai nodded.

"What's William for?" April asked, and a shadow crossed Lorelai's face.

"William was your grandfather's name." She said, looking at her hands.

"Right, William's hardware." Rory nodded. Seeing the look on Lorelai's face, she continued. "I like it. And what about a girl?"

"I know it's a boy, so I don't really have to think about girl names." Lorelai replied.

"Oh, come on." April said.

"Fine, for a girl I thought Victoria Leigh... do you have a middle name?" She asked April.

"Anna, after my mom."

"Perfect, so Victoria Anna Leigh, after all of us, and your mom and mine." Lorelai finished.

"It's pretty." Rory said.

"Yeah." April agreed, turning her attention back to the movie, a frown on her face.

"What's wrong, kid?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing." April shrugged off.

"Oh no, that's a something face." Rory pushed.

"It's really nothing." April started. "I just... is the baby going to be a Gilmore, like you guys?"

"Oh, I get it. You're afraid that because you're not a Gilmore, the baby won't be as much your sibling as it will be mine?" Rory asked, and April nodded.

"It's silly, I know." She said, slouching her shoulders.

"It's not silly." Lorelai shook her head. "And you don't have to be related to us to be a Gilmore."

"You don't?" April looked up.

"Of course not." Rory agreed. "See, there are honorary Gilmores."

"Honorary Gilmores?" April frowned.

"Yup, people who are family even if they're not really blood relations." Lorelai explained.

"Who else is an honorary Gilmore?" April asked.

"Well, Sookie and Jackson and the kids." Lorelai started. "And Rory's dad, of course, and Babette and Morey, and you and your mom, and..." She cut herself off, but both April and Rory knew what she had been about to say.

"And my dad, right?" April asked carefully, and Lorelai nodded slightly.

"At least he used to be." She looked at the TV, hoping the girls would let the subject drop. To her great relief, they both watched the movie and didn't say anything else.

xxxxx

"Rory!" Lorelai called through the house, slumping down on her bed.

"What?" Rory asked, coming into her mother's bedroom.

"I have nothing to wear." Lorelai declared and Rory looked around the room where every surface possible was covered with clothes.

"And this is just a new style of interior design?" She joked, sitting down on the bed next to Lorelai.

"Nothing fits." Lorelai said grumpily.

"Oh." Rory said in a knowing voice. Lorelai had put off shopping for maternity clothes, since she said there was no such thing as cute maternity clothes. Apparently, in her fifth month, the pregnancy had caught up with her clothing size.

"What do you mean 'oh'?" Lorelai demanded, tears rising in her eyes. "You think I'm fat, don't you?"

"No, mom, I don't think you are fat." Rory calmly reasoned. Her mother's moodswings were familiar ground to her by now. "But this was bound to happen eventually. We talked about it, remember?"

"I know." Lorelai admitted, fingering the sweat pants she was wearing. "I'll go shopping tomorrow. But I still have nothing to wear."

"Wait just a minute." Rory said, leaving the room. She returned a moment later, a black, knee length skirt in her hands. "Try this on." She handed the garment to Lorelai.

"This has an elastic waist." Lorelai noticed with a frown. "I have sworn not to wear anything with an elastic waist til I'm 70 years old."

"Will you just try it? You can't even tell." Rory said, looking through the pile of clothes for a top.

"Fine." Lorelai agreed, pulling her sweat pants off and putting on the skirt. It fit, though it was a little tight around her stomach.

"That looks great." Rory assured Lorelai, handing her a shirt she had found and Lorelai slipped it on, looking at herself in the mirror.

"I look hideous!" She exclaimed, covering her face with her hands.

"You look amazing, mom." Rory tried. "You can hardly tell anything."

"Yes you can, it's right there!" Lorelai indicated her growing stomach.

"What are you going to do, lock yourself in the house for the next four months?" Rory wondered, and a small smile spread on Lorelai's face.

"Can I?" She asked, and Rory shook her head.

"You do know that it will get worse, right?" Rory said. "I mean, you have done this before."

"Maybe I suppressed the memories of gaining wait?" Lorelai suggested, but Rory just laughed.

"Did you suppress the memories of giving birth too?" She asked, and Lorelai visibly paled.

"Did you have to remind me?"

xxxxx

"Hi, Liesel, nice to see you." Lorelai said as the maid opened the door. She had now been in the Gilmore household for two months, and seemed to be staying.

"Good evening Miss Gilmore, Miss Gilmore." She smiled at them.

"How many times have we told you to call us by our first names?" Lorelai scolded her.

"About one less than Mrs. Gilmore has told me to call you both Miss Gilmore." Liesel joked, turning to lead them into the living room.

"Lorelai, Rory, wonderful to see you." Emily stood to give her daughter and granddaughter hugs.

"Hey Grandma." Rory replied.

"Hi, mom."

"Lorelai, you look lovely. Is that a new skirt?" Emily asked.

"No, I don't, I look like a whale." Lorelai whined, and Emily shot Rory a quick look. She hurriedly shook her head and Emily changed the subject.

"So, drinks?" She walked over to the drink cart.

"Martini with a twist, please." Lorelai said, earning a stern look from Emily. "I was only joking. I'll have a glass of apple juice, if you have it."

"I'll have a coke, Grandma." Rory added, glaring at her mother.

"Lorelai, Rory." Richard greeted, coming into the living room. "You're here."

"Hi dad." Lorelai said, smiling at her father.

"Hey Grandpa." Rory gave him a hug.

"How is Yale, you keeping busy?" Richard asked, sitting down opposite Rory and Lorelai.

"Yeah, they're already going on about the finals, and they're two months away." Rory complained slightly.

"It's always good to be prepared." Richard said.

"Here you are." Emily said, handing Lorelai and Rory their drinks.

"Thanks Grandma." Rory replied, sipping her soda.

"Yeah, thanks mom." Lorelai repeated, taking her glass.

"So, is everything done with the house now?" Richard asked as Emily sat down next to him.

"Other than the final touches on the nursery, everything's done." Lorelai confirmed.

"Why don't you just find out if it's a boy or a girl so you can finish the room?" Emily asked.

"Because, one, I want it to be a surprise, and two, I want to be able to paint a little in the nursery, too." Lorelai explained, shooting Rory a glare. "Since Hitler and Mini-Hitler won't let me paint while I'm pregnant, I'll have to do it after the baby gets here."

"We're only doing it for your own good." Rory defended herself.

"Yes, really, Lorelai, you shouldn't be painting in your condition." Emily added, and Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I know, I get it, can't I just complain a little?" She said.

"A little? Saying that you complain a little would be like saying Julie Andrews sang a little in 'Sound of Music'." Rory countered, and Lorelai gave her the evil eye.

"Shouldn't you show your mother some respect?" She said, her voice indicating that she was really joking.

"I will when you stop whining every five seconds about every little thing." Rory retorted.

"I'm pregnant, I think I've earned the right to complain."

"You haven't had a leg amputated."

Lorelai decided to answer that comment by sticking out her tongue, and Rory quickly followed her lead.

"Really, girls, are you five?" Emily asked, frowning.

"Sorry, mom, just a little mother-daughter spat." Lorelai smiled at Rory.

"Yeah, we'll cut it out now." Rory added.

"So, how is the pregnancy going?" Emily wondered. "Everything OK?"

"Everything's fine, so far." Lorelai replied. "The doctor says that everything is going according to the schedule."

"Good, good." Emily nodded. "You never can be too careful, especially at your age."

"Geez, thanks mother." Lorelai replied dryly.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that and you know it." Emily said. "I just meant that the older you are, the more chances thereare of complications."

"I know, mom, I'm just kidding."

"I'm just concerned about you and the baby." Emily continued, obviously not ready to let the subject go just yet. "I am his or her grandmother after all, can't I worry?"

"Of course you can, mom, and I appreciate it." Lorelai's voice softened. "I was actually wondering if maybe you'd like to go with me to my next doctor's appointment?"

"Really?" Emily asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah, it's this Tuesday and I'm having my second sonogram, so I thought you might like to go." Lorelai said, suddenly feeling insecure. It had seemed like a great idea to ask her mother to go with her to the doctor at the time, but now she wasn't as sure anymore.

"I would love to." Emily smiled at her daughter, and Lorelai returned the smile.

xxxxx

"Really, how long are they going to keep us waiting?" Emily complained. The nurse had told them that the doctor was running a little late, due to some family problem, and they had been waiting for twenty minutes.

"She'll get to us eventually." Lorelai tried to calm her mother.

"You should see Richard's friend, Eric Milhouse, instead." Emily said. "At least he knows how to treat the patients.

"Thanks for coming with me mom." Lorelai said, a little sarcastic. Emily looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I just don't like waiting." She said.

"I know what you mean." Lorelai agreed, looking around the waiting room.

"You're uncomfortable." Emily stated, and Lorelai squirmed in her chair.

"It's just... all the happy, lovey-dovey couples everywhere." She said quietly.

"You're feeling lonely?" Emily asked, and Lorelai shook her head.

"Not really, I mean, I know I can do this, I have before." She said. "It's just... that's how it's supposed to be, mommy, daddy and baby. Why can't I ever get that?" She had tears in her eyes and wiped them away.

"You will." Emily replied, putting an arm around her daughter's shoulders.

"You don't know that." Lorelai said.

"Yes I do." Emily insisted.

"How?" Lorelai asked.

"Because despite the fact that I have only met Luke a few times, I always knew how much he loved you, even before you did." Emily explained.

"Yeah, well, not anymore." Lorelai stated.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Emily said. "Love like that doesn't just go away."

"No, I managed to drive it away myself." Lorelai replied. "I hurt him, mom. A lot."

"You hurt each other." Emily corrected. "I saw how much pain you were in those last couple of months before he left. I firmly believe that if you two could just sit down and talk everything through, things would work out."

"I thought you didn't like Luke?" Lorelai said.

"He's grown on me." Emily admitted. "But mostly, I've realized that he made you very happy, and I would want nothing more than to see you that happy again."

"Thanks, mom." Lorelai leaned her head against her mother's shoulder.

xxxxx

"So you're sure you don't want to know the sex?" The doctor asked a little later, as she rubbed the gel onto Lorelai's stomach.

"Positive." Lorelai replied, leaning back on the examination table.

"OK, then. Here we go." The doctor turned the monitor on and found the baby quickly. Rapid heart beats filled the room.

"Is that normal?" Emily asked concerned.

"It's very normal." The doctor smiled. "So, there's your baby. Quite a bit bigger than last time."

"Yeah." Lorelai mumbled, her eyes firmly on the screen, a smile forming on her face. _Her baby_.

"There's the head, and the arms. It's moving around a lot too. Have you felt any movement yet?"

"No, not yet." Lorelai shook her head.

"It should be any day now." The doctor told her.

"Isn't it amazing, mom?" Lorelai said. Not getting an answer from her mother, she looked over at Emily, finding her completely focused on the screen. "Mom?"

"What?" Emily seemed to snap out of a daze, turning to Lorelai.

"I said isn't it amazing?" Lorelai repeated.

"It's extraordinary." Emily agreed, looking at the screen again. "Could we have another picture?" She asked the doctor.

"I'll print a couple of photos for you, and if you'd like, you could have a tape too." The doctor smiled.

"We'd like that very much, thank you." Emily said.

"Yes, thank you." Lorelai agreed, thinking of the baby book she had at home. It was almost half full already, she had taken pictures of everything that was remotely related to the baby, including Rory and April painting the nursery. She just hoped she'd have a chance to give the book to Luke in a not too distant future.

**AN: Since you've been such good reviewers, I decided to update a little sooner than I had intended. I know a lot of you are wondering when Luke is comig back, and to you I have good news. This is the very last chapter before Luke comes back. So, I guess the only question is, do you want more?**


	8. 7 Are you trying to kill us?

**7 – Are you trying to get us killed?"**

"Hey, Sook, I'm going to go get lunch!" Lorelai called in the direction of the Inn's kitchen.

"You want me to go with you?" Sookie asked, coming into the foyer.

"I thought you were having lunch with Jackson?" Lorelai frowned. Sookie had been very overprotective over the past couple of months.

"I don't have to. In fact, I'm in the mood for a burger." Sookie insisted.

"Sookie, I don't need you to go with me everywhere." Lorelai replied.

"I'm not, I really wanna have lunch with you." Sookie tried, but Lorelai could tell she was lying.

"No, you really wanna keep an eye on me." Lorelai corrected.

"Fine, maybe I do." Sookie admitted. "But what if something happens?"

"I'll be at the diner, odds are someone could help me." Lorelai reasoned.

"But what if something happens on your way to the diner?"

"It takes five minutes to walk there and I have my cell phone." Lorelai concluded. "Besides, nothing's gonna happen for at least another month, probably longer."

"You don't know that, baby's come early all the time." Lorelai knew Sookie was just concerned, but her constant supervision was really getting to her.

"They also come late all the time." She now countered. "Remember Davey?"

"Fine." Sookie caved. "But you have me on speed dial, right? And Rory, and your parents?"

"You know I do." Lorelai assured her, turning to leave. "You go have a nice lunch with your husband."

Lorelai left the inn and wrapped her coat tightly around herself. She had bought a new winter coat a few weeks earlier, so she would be able to button it around her stomach.

Letting her mind wander, she walked towards the center of town. It was nine days before Christmas, and Rory would be home soon. With Logan, of course. Lorelai wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she had decided to at least try to make him feel welcome. He was obviously crazy about her daughter.

Christmas was going to be very different this year. Her parents had decided to have a small party, just for the family, on Christmas Eve, and Lorelai was hosting a big party at her house on Christmas Day. All of their friends and family were coming, her parents, Sookie and her family, April and Anna, Lane and Zach, Liz and T.J. and their daughter, Amanda, who had been born the previous week.

Thinking she had to get Sookie to go shopping with her that weekend, Lorelai passed Weston's. She still had almost half of her presents to get, and she wanted to get it over with before the last minute shoppers invaded the stores.

As she crossed the town square, Lorelai started thinking about what to order for lunch. She and Lane had started a game where she would order something completely hideous and Lane would complain the entire time she ate because it looked so disgusting.

An omelette with jelly beans and hot chili sauce, she decided on and stepped off the sidewalk, looking up to make sure no cars were in the street. And she froze, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she saw who was standing in front of the diner.

xxxxx

Luke sighed as he drove into Stars Hollow. It had been more than five months since he left, not sure if he would ever come back. And here he was.

As he passed the familiar buildings, he noticed that nothing had changed. Not that he had really expected it to, this was Stars Hollow after all. Nothing ever changed here.

Stopping in front of the diner, he turned the truck off, but didn't get out of the car. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He should probably go into the diner, make sure it was still standing after five months, but somehow the thought of working just didn't feel right.

April. He should go and see April. Deep down he had known that taking off a few months into his relationship with his newly discovered daughter had been a really bad idea, but at the time that relationship had just been forced to take the backseat to his relationship with Lorelai. Or, more accurately, his no longer existing relationship with Lorelai.

He had realized the second that those words left her mouth that he would have to leave.

_I spent the night with Cristopher._

The words still haunted his dreams, every night. He hadn't been able to stay in Stars Hollow, to watch her and Chris make the life that he and Lorelai should have had.

And he knew that he wouldn't have been able to take it if she had gone to Boston to live there instead, since he wouldn't be able to see her.

So he had left. He still hadn't seen her, but it had been on his terms. Somehow that made it a little better. Not a lot, but a little. He had made the choice to leave before she could take off, leaving him to wonder.

But now, here he was. Back where he started. He didn't know if he was staying or not. All he knew was that he had felt that he needed to spend Christmas with April, so he had come back. Originally, he had planned on living in the apartment, maybe work a little in the diner. But now he wondered if it was better if he stayed in Woodbridge, at a motel or something, so he wouldn't risk running into Lorelai and Chris. Or the concerned towns people.

Deciding to go to Woodbridge, tosee April and then figure out what he was going to do, he started the truck again. Only to turn it of a few seconds later. It was the middle of the day, April was at school. Her break didn't start for another couple of days, he knew that. He would just have to keep himself busy until three, and then he could go see her.

He could go see Liz. He hadn't seen the new baby yet, and he knew Liz would be happy to see him. He would do that.

He opened the car door and jumped into the street, closing the door. As he was about to walk across the sidewalk to the diner, he looked up and froze. It couldn't be her.

She spotted him as well, and stopped dead in her tracks, her hand covering her mouth. And it was her. Lorelai. _His Lorelai_. Though not anymore. He let his eyes wander over her and managed to hold back a gasp of surprise. A very pregnant Lorelai.

She took a step towards him, her eyes wide with... what, surprise? Shock? He leaned back against the truck, not sure his legs would support him if he tried to walk. Why hadn't she told him? Or was it...?

"Luke?" She said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Lorelai." He replied, surprised that his voice didn't break.

"It's really you?" She asked, and he nodded. "You're back?"

"I'm back." He confirmed, and it seemed to finally sink in.

"Oh my God." She said, tears forming in her eyes. He resisted the urge to reach out and pull her into his arms, comforting her and assuring her that everything would be OK. "Where were you?"

"Around." He replied, not wanting to discuss it. "Were you even going to tell me?" His voice was accusing.

"What?" She wondered, sounding confused.

"About this!" He gestured at her stomach, and she looked down as if only noticing it just then.

"I didn't..."

"You didn't want me to know, is that it?" He cut her off, raising his voice. She just looked at him, confusion visible in her eyes.

"No, I..."

"I mean, why not? Anna did it, why not you too?" He yelled, and she flinched as if he had hit her. "Sure, let's not tell Luke, he doesn't deserve to know anyway!"

"I didn't know where you were!" Lorelai yelled back, finding her voice again.

"Yeah right." He scoffed, knowing that she was right. But he needed to blame this on her. The guilt was more than he could handle at the moment.

"You refused to call me, and no one knew where you were, and your cell phone was off." Lorelai rambled. "I called every day, five, ten times a day, and then the little voice stopped saying 'the number you have dialled can not be reached' and started saying 'the number you have dialled is not being used' and still I kept trying for weeks, so don't come here and say that I didn't try to tell you!"

"How am I even supposed to know that it's mine, huh?" Luke retorted. "I mean, for all I know you had been sleeping with Chris for weeks before you told me."

She just looked at him, pain evident in her eyes.

"I don't have to do this." She said, turning around and starting to walk away from him.

"Lorelai!" He called after her, but she didn't stop. "Lorelai!" He started to walk after her across the square. "Damn it, I'm talking to you!"

Suddenly she stopped, and he caught up with her.

"Finally, will you just listen to me?" He walked around her so he could face her. He frowned when he noticed that her eyes were closed and she was clenching her hands as if she was in pain. "What's wrong?" He asked, suddenly not caring about the argument anymore.

"Nothing." She said, not looking up at him before she started walking again, heading in the direction of the inn. After a few feet she stopped again, doubling over slightly and clutching her stomach.

"Something is obviously wrong, let me help you." Luke tried to put his arm around her waist, but she shrugged him off and continued walking, not getting far before she had to hold onto one of the benches for support because of the pain. "I'm taking you to the hospital." Luke announced, grabbing Lorelai by the arm and leading her towards his truck.

"I'm fine!" She pulled free, but he only caught her again.

"You are not fine, and you are going to the hospital!" Luke insisted, pulling her along with him.

"No, I'm not, let me go!" Lorelai pulled free again, only to grab onto Luke's arm in pain a moment later. He took the opportunity and lifted her up, carrying her to the truck. "Put me down!" She yelled, kicking against him.

"Do you want me to drop you?" Luke asked, and she stopped wriggling. When he got to the passenger side of the truck, he paused. "Are you going to get in the car?" He asked, and she grudgingly nodded, so he put her down and opened the car door for her. She got in after a little help from him, and he walked around the car to the drivers side.

He started the car and headed for the highway. As they passed the 'Welcome to Stars Hollow' sign, Lorelai pulled out her cell phone.

"You're not calling the police, are you? Cause I doubt they'll believe I kidnapped you." Luke half joked. Lorelai rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm calling Rory." She said, putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Rory's voice came over the line.

"Hey, hon." Lorelai said, grabbing onto the strap above the window as Luke accelerated to well above the speed limit.

"Hey, mom, what's up?"

"Now, don't panic, but I need you to meet us at the hospital." Lorelai said, waiting for the hysteric attack she knew Rory would get.

"The hospital? What happened? Are you in labor? But it's way too early..."

"Breathe, hon, breathe." Lorelai cut her off, and she heard Rory take a couple of deep breaths into the phone. "Now, I don't think it's the real thing, but someone..." She glared at Luke. "...insisted. But you should probably get there anyway, just in case. Unless you have an important class?"

"No, I've got the afternoon off." Rory said, having calmed down a little. At that moment, Luke hit a large bump in the road and Lorelai whined.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" She complained.

"I'm just trying to get there as soon as possible!" Luke retorted.

"Who was that?" Rory asked, hearing Luke's voice over the line.

"Oh, that." Lorelai said, not sure how to explain the situation to Rory. "That's just... Luke."

"Luke?" Rory screeched. "What's he doing there? When did he come back? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Whoa whoa, slow down, kid." Lorelai cut her daughter off, whincing with another pain. "Listen, mommy's in a lot of pain here, so I can't explain everything right now. Just meet us at the hospital in Hartfort, OK?"

"I'm already out the door." Rory replied, hanging up.

Lorelai glared at Luke as he hit another bump in the road. He shot her an apologetic look.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

xxxxx

"We need a doctor!" Luke almost yelled as they entered Hartford Memorial. The nurse behind the desk just raised an eyebrow at him.

"You'll have to wait your turn." She said, not even looking at Lorelai. Luke was about to counter when Lorelai shook her head at him.

"I'll handle this." She said, walking up to the desk, her stomach clearly visible to the woman behind it. "Hi, my name is Lorelai Gilmore. Listen. There's a kid in here that might very well be on its way to making its entrance in this world, so unless you want that to happen right here, I suggest you get a doctor."

The nurse looked like she would most of all like to run away from there, but picked up a phone and dialled a number.

"I have a woman in labor at the reception, Lorelai Gilmore." She said into the phone, then waited for a moment before hanging up. "A nurse will be here in a moment."

"Thank you." Lorelai said sweetly, smiling at the woman before walking over to the plastic chairs against the wall and sitting down.

"How did you do that?" Luke asked, amazed.

"Years of practice." Lorelai shrugged, not looking at him.

"Look, Lorelai, I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't..."

"Miss Gilmore?" A male nurse interrupted him.

"That would be me." Lorelai said, heaving herself up from the chair.

"If you would take a seat please." The nurse said, indicating the wheelchair he was pushing in front of him. Lorelai sat down. The nurse looked at Luke. "Is this..."

"He just gave me a ride." Lorelai cut him off, not meeting Luke's eyes.

"Alright then." The nurse said, looking slightly confused. He started rolling Lorelai towards an elevator, Luke just looking after them.

xxxxx

"Where's my mom?" Rory asked the minute she spotted Luke in the waiting room. A kind nurse had told him to go to the fifth floor, where Lorelai had been taken, so instead of waiting in the lobby of the hospital, he had spent the past twenty minutes in a room full of expecting fathers and other family members. He wasn't sure what he preferred.

"I don't know, they won't tell me anything, since I'm not family." He said sarcastically and Rory frowned.

"But you are!" She exclaimed. "I mean, not my family, but you're the baby's dad, shouldn't that count?"

"Am I? You're sure about that?" Luke asked.

"What? Of course I am." Rory looked at him confused. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, just surprised I guess." Luke said. Apparently, Lorelai hadn't told Rory about her night with Christopher. That was a good sign, at least they weren't together.

"I'm gonna go call my grandparents." Rory said, but before she could leave the nurse that had gotten Lorelai from the lobby appeared.

"You brought Miss Gilmore in, right?" He said to Luke, who nodded. "Well, she's doing fine, it was just Braxton-Hicks contractions."

"Braxton-what?" Rory asked. The nurse frowned at her.

"This is Lorelai's daughter." Luke told him, and the nurse nodded.

"Well, Braxton-Hicks is really just another name for false labor. It's very common at this stage of the pregnancy." He explained. "Your mother hasn't had them before?"

"No, she hasn't mentioned anything." Rory replied. "Why did it happen?"

"There may not be a particular reason, most women experience these pains during the third trimester. It helps get the body ready for the actual labor. Sometimes, stress or physical exhaustion can cause it, but mostly it just happens."

"Can we take her home?" Rory asked, but the nurse shook his head.

"I'm afraid the doctor discovered some irregularities in the baby's heartbeats, so he wants to keep your mother over night, just to monitor the baby. It's probably nothing, but just in case." He said.

"Can I see her?" Rory asked, and the nurse nodded.

"Right this way." He lead her down a hallway, neither of them giving Luke a second glance. He sat down on one of the plastic chairs, burying his head in his hands.

This was his fault. The nurse had said that stress could cause it, and what had he done? He had started accusing her, yelling at her. He should have just let her talk, explain, but no, he had to go off and picture the worst case scenario. And now she was in the hospital because of him. There might be something wrong with the baby, and that was his fault too. He shut out the rational voice in his head saying it would have happened anyway and gave in to the guilt.

He had accused her of not wanting him to know. But had he given her a choice? No. He had taken off, not told anyone where he was. He had deliberately left his cell phone in the apartment, so he wouldn't be tempted to answer it when she called, if she called. Now he understood what Liz had meant when she had told him he would regret not calling Lorelai all those months ago. She had known.

Why had he been so stubborn? Why hadn't he just called her? He'd sure as hell wanted to. But his stupid pride had gotten in the way, and now it may be too late. The way she had looked at him when he had questioned her... there had been so much pain in her eyes.

Sighing, he leaned back in the chair. Rory would probably be a while, and he wasn't going anywhere until he knew that Lorelai and the baby were fine.

xxxxx

"Mom?" Rory carefully peeked into the room the nurse had brought her to.

"Hey kid, come on in." Lorelai said, and Rory entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, sitting down next to her mother's bed.

"I'm fine, just uncomfortable." Lorelai said, looking at the elastic band that the doctor had put around her stomach with a thing that monitored the baby's heartbeats.

"It's just to make sure the baby's doing OK." Rory reasoned, and Lorelai nodded.

"I know, I know." She said. "But I still won't be able to sleep like this."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem." Rory replied, giving her mother a questioning look. "So..."

"So... what?" Lorelai put on an innocent look.

"Don't 'so what' me, missy, you know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Boy, you just jump right in, don't you?" Lorelai sighed.

"What's he doing here? Is he back, or what?" Rory asked, voicing some of the questions Lorelai had been asking herself over the past hour.

"I honestly don't know, kid." She now admitted. "I was going to the diner for lunch, like every day, and suddenly, there he was."

"Just like that, huh?" Rory said and Lorelai nodded.

"And he noticed, of course, and started asking if I had planned on telling him at all." Lorelai continued.

"What? It was his own fault, taking off like that!" Rory exclaimed.

"I know, that's what I told him too." Lorelai nodded. "And then he said..." She didn't finish the sentence, holding back a sob.

"He said what, mom?" Rory enquired, a concerned look on her face.

"He asked how he was supposed to know that it was his." A few tears streamed down Lorelai's face as she said this.

"Oh, mom." Rory pulled her mother into a hug.

"I know he has the right to wonder, I mean I practically told him... but it still hurt, you know?" Lorelai mumbled into Rory's shoulder.

"I know." Rory said, rubbing her mother's back. "Do you want me to talk to him? Explain?"

"No, I should do it." Lorelai said, pulling back. "If he'll ever talk to me again."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Rory said. "He looked really concerned when the nurse told us what was going on."

"He's still here?" Lorelai asked, a small light appearing in her eyes.

"Sure he is, and he didn't look like he was going anywhere." Rory revealed. "He still cares about you."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Lorelai said. "I was pretty mean to him when we got here."

"What did you do?" Rory asked in a stern voice.

"I just... the nurse that took me up here, he was about to ask if he was the dad, and I sort of cut him off, saying Luke had only given me a ride to the hospital." Lorelai said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Mom!"

"I know, I was just really angry with him." Lorelai explained and Rory sighed.

"Well, if there's no baby arriving today, I should really get back to school." She said, standing up. "I still have a couple of finals left, gotta study."

"You do that." Lorelai agreed, returning the kiss Rory gave her. "Good luck."

"Do you want me to call Grandma?" Rory asked, putting her coat on.

"No, there's no need to worry them." Lorelai shook her head.

"Yeah, you're right, they'd just panic." Rory nodded.

"Kind of like you?" Lorelai teased.

"Give me a break, I thought you were having the baby."

"I know, I'm just teasing a little." Lorelai replied. Rory paused before opening the door. "Could you call Sookie, though? Looks like I won't be going back to work today."

"Sure." Rory agreed, hesitating for a moment. "Do you want me to send him in?"

"If he's still here, sure." Lorelai said, hoping that he would be.

"He's still here." Rory said, leaving the room.

xxxxx

"Hey, you still in there?" Rory waved her hand in front of Luke's face. He was staring into space and hadn't heard her when she called him. Now he snapped out of the daze and looked up at Rory.

"How is she? Is she OK? Is everything OK?" He asked, standing up. Rory held up a hand to stop him.

"She's fine, just complaining as usual." She assured him, and he let out a breath.

"You're leaving?" He asked, and Rory nodded.

"Gotta get back to school, finals" She explained.

"Oh, sure, I should have realized that." He said, sitting back down in the chair.

"You gonna stay there all night?" Rory asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have to know they're OK." Luke replied, looking at his feet.

Rory smiled to herself. Oh yeah, Luke still had a major thing for her mother. Now if she could only get the two of them to realize they were perfect together.

"You can go see her, if you want to." She said, and he looked up.

"You sure? She didn't seem to happy to have me here earlier." He replied.

"I'm sure. She actually asked me to tell you to go in." Rory lied a little. "She was just upset earlier."

"Are you sure it's OK?" Luke stood up hesitantly.

"I'm positive." Rory insisted. "She's in room twelve, just down the hallway."

"Thanks." He offered her a small smile before walking down the hallway.

"And Luke?" Rory called after him, and he turned around. "I'm glad you're back."

"Glad to be back."

xxxxx

Lorelai nervously twisted the sheet in her hands as she waited. Maybe he had left. It had been a couple of minutes since Rory left, it wouldn't take him that long to get there. And why would he stay? She had practically told him to leave.

"Hey." She heard from the door and looked up to find Luke standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey, come on in." She replied, and he seemed to relax at her words. He closed the door behind him and walked over to her bed.

"You feeling better?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Much better, thank you." She said, indicating the chair next to the bed, and he sat down.

"And everything's OK with the...?" He gestured to her stomach.

"Everything seems fine." Lorelai said, glancing at the monitor next to the bed that kept track of the baby's heart beat. "The doctor said it was just a safety precaution to keep me overnight."

"That's good." Luke nodded. The silence between them was thick, and Lorelai decided to break it.

"So, when did you get back?" She asked.

"About a minute before you saw me." Luke said. "You didn't think I had managed to keep my return a secret in Stars Hollow, did you?"

"I guess not." Lorelai smiled a little. "So, why now?"

"Christmas is coming up, I wanted to spend the holidays with April." Luke explained.

"That's nice." Lorelai nodded. "So is this temporary?" She didn't look at him, knowing he would see the uncertainty in her eyes if she did.

"No, I'm staying." He replied, surprising himself since he hadn't decided if he was leaving after the holidays or not.

"Really?" She asked, looking up at him with a hint of hope in her eyes.

"I wasn't sure before, but I can't leave. Not now." He said, looking at her intently.

"You don't have to stay because of this, not if you really don't want to." Lorelai told him.

"I want to." He assured her. "Unless you don't want me around."

"No, I do, I really do." She hurriedly said.

"Good."

"Good."

They were quiet for a moment, but it was more comfortable this time around. After a few minutes, Luke broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out. "I'm sorry about everything that happened before I left, and I'm sorry for leaving and for the way I talked to you earlier. I had no right to question you like that, to yell at you. This is all my fault."

"What's all your fault?" Lorelai asked, frowning.

"You being in here, and the... the baby, something's wrong and it's my fault because I yelled at you and I..."

"It's not your fault!" Lorelai cut him off. "Don't think that. This would have happened anyway, the doctor said that it's perfectly normal. I just overreacted."

"I'm so sorry." Luke repeated, meeting Lorelai's eyes, and she could see tears forming in his. "I am so sorry. For everything."

"So am I." She replied. "For saying what I said before, and for everything back then too. I should have told you how I was feeling, we should have been able to talk about it."

"It wasn't your fault. I should have noticed you weren't happy." Luke said. "I should have told Anna that she had nothing to do with you seeing April or not, I should have made sure that you were both included in my life. And I shouldn't have postponed the wedding."

"Can we just settle on both of us being sorry and maybe start over?" Lorelai suggested. "I mean, there is a kid involved, after all. Or will be." She desperately needed him to be a part of her life, even if it was only as the father of her child and, someday hopefully, her friend again.

"I'd like that." Luke said, wondering what she meant. Did she want to get back together?

"So, friends?" She said, holding out her hand to him, hoping he would say something, anything, to give her the slightest hint that he wanted more.

Luke felt his heart drop to his knees, but didn't let it show. She wanted to be friends? Well, if it was the only way he would be able to be involved in her and the baby's life, he would take it.

"Friends." He agreed, taking her hand in his.

Lorelai felt tears starting to rise in her eyes, and willed them away. If he only wanted to be friends, then they would be friends. As long as she got to see him.

"There's just one thing..." Luke started, looking at her cautiously. "...and I don't mean it in an accusing way or anything, I just need to know."

"I am sure." She said, emphasizing every word.

"But can you really be a hundred percent positive? Isn't there always a chance?" Luke insisted. It wasn't that he didn't want the baby to be his, it was that he really, really did.

"I'm sure, because nothing happened that night with Chris." Lorelai said, holding her breath waiting for his reaction.

"Nothing happened? But you said..."

"I said we spent the night together." She cut him off. "And I said that because I wanted you to think that something happened, because I was angry, and hurt, and probably a million other things at the same time, and I said what I knew would make you leave. I just didn't know you'd leave that much." She finished with a joke.

Luke only looked at her for a moment. She hadn't slept with Christopher, nothing had happened. This baby inside her was his. His and Lorelai's. Their child.

"Now, I get that you're mad, and maybe you don't believe me, and that's fine." Lorelai started to ramble. "We can do a DNA test, cause I don't want you to have any doubt, OK?" She looked at him, not sure what he was going to say. Was he angry?

"We don't have to do that, I believe you." He said, and Lorelai sighed in relief.

"Really? Cause we can..."

"I believe you." He cut her off, more forcefully. "I really knew right away, I was just... scared that I would get my mind set on this and then have it ripped away."

"You won't, I promise." Lorelai shook her head. "So you're happy about this?"

"Happy? I know that I've missed a lot, but I get to be here for everything from now on, I get to see our child grow up... I don't think happy begins to cover it." He said, and Lorelai smiled at him.

"Good." She replied, moving a little in the bed to get more comfortable. All of a sudden, she gasped a little.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Luke instantly wondered, but Lorelai only smiled.

"Give me your hand." She said, reaching for it.

"What? Why?" He wondered, but she only grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach.

"Do you feel that?" She asked.

"No, what am I supposed to..." He started, but then he felt a flutter against the palm of his hand. "Is that...?"

"He's kicking." Lorelai smiled. "I guess he know's his daddy."

"He? Is it a boy?" Luke asked, feeling excitement rising. A son.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry." Lorelai gave him an apologetic look. "I don't know that for sure, I want it to be a surprise, but I really think it's a boy, so I've just gotten used to saying 'him' instead of 'it'. sorry."

"Don't be." Luke reassured her. "It doesn't matter, boy or girl."

"Really?"

"Really."


	9. 8 Finland, Minnesota

**8 – Finland, Minnesota**

"So, where were you?" Lorelai asked later that afternoon.

They had spent the past couple of hours talking about the newest festival in Stars Hollow, the First Snow of the Year feast, initiated by Lorelai of course, Sookie's latest injury which had included a grater and a lot of cheese, Rory's last year at Yale, the Gilmore's unexpected change in behaviour, the happenings at the Dragonfly and basically everything else under the sun except what Lorelai really wanted to talk about.

"Here and there." Luke started. "I didn't stay long anywhere, I felt... I don't know, restless, I guess. I just knew that I had to keep moving, or everything would catch up with me and then I'd have no choice but to go back, and I wasn't ready to. Not then."

"And now? Why did you come back?" Lorelai wondered, tilting her head to the side.

"It was time." He explained. "I didn't know a few days ago that I was going back, but then I woke up in a shabby motel in Finland..."

"You were in Finland?" Lorelai cut him off, and he glared at her.

"Finland, Minnesota." He replied.

"Finland's in Minnesota? I always thought it was in Europe." Lorelai seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"Not Finland, the country, Finland the town." Luke corrected her, not as annoyed as he sounded. He had missed their little banters while he was gone... hell, he had missed them before he left, too. The last few months before the break-up they had been acting like they barely knew each other. It was nice to be able to just talk, about anything.

"Now, that is just wrong." Lorelai announced. "Isn't it hard enough to learn all those weird European country names, and now they have to go and name a town the same name? Wrong."

"Yeah, well, that's where I was." Luke retorted. "Now, can I get back to what i was saying?"

"Sure." Lorelai nodded encouragingly.

"So, there I was, in this crappy hotel called 'Hotel Holiday' or something similarly stupid, and I just realized..."

"What's in Finland, Minnesota, anyway?" Lorelai interrupted again. Luke just raised his eyebrows at her. "Sorry."

"So, I realized that Christmas was only a little more than a week away, and I have never spent Christmas anywhere but here." He said. "And I wanted to be with April on the holidays, so I just got in the car and drove all day yesterday."

"Did you see April yet?" Lorelai asked.

"No." Luke shook his head. "I just got back a minute or so before I saw you. I was about to go to Woodbridge, but then I realized she was in school anyway, so I'll go there later."

"Well, it's three thirty, she'll be home by now." Lorelai said, not looking up at him. She didn't want him to leave yet.

"Don't try to get rid off me, I'm not going anywhere until I know you two are OK." He replied.

"We're fine." Lorelai insisted, not knowing why really. She didn't want him to leave, and he didn't want to leave. Why was she pushing him?

"That's not what the doctor thinks, obviously." He nodded at the heart monitor.

"It's just a precaution, really." Lorelai said.

"OK, then I'm staying just as a precaution also." Luke concluded, crossing his arms in front of him as if daring her to argue.

"OK." She agreed, getting a slightly surprised look. They sat in silence for a moment before Lorelai spoke again. "Thank you." Luke frowned.

"For what?"

"For... everything. For taking me here, for staying with me, for... caring." She explained.

"As for taking you here, I kind of had to, seeing as how I did sort of cause this." Luke held up his hand as Lorelai was about to argue. "No, it's OK. And staying... I couldn't just leave, you should know that. And you will never have to worry about me not caring, no matter what happens. I will always care about you, all three of you." Lorelai smiled at how he included Rory in their little twisted 'family'.

"Still, thank you." She insisted, a serious look on her face.

"You're welcome." Luke replied, smiling a little.

"So, you're spending Christmas with April?" Lorelai asked, changing the subject.

"Hopefully." Luke nodded. "I mean, I don't know if they have any plans, but if not I'd like to at least see her."

"Then you should come to our house on Christmas Day." Lorelai suggested, and Luke frowned.

"Why?" He asked, hurriedly adding. "Not that I wouldn't like to."

"I'm having a big Christmas party at my house." Lorelai told him. "Well, me and Sookie, really, she's doing all the cooking."

"OK..." Luke still had a confused look on his face, so Lorelai continued.

"It's for all our family and friends, and April and Anna will be there." She explained.

"Why?" Luke asked, and it dawned on Lorelai that he didn't know about her and Rory's relationship with April and Anna.

"Sorry, I forgot." She said. "April hasn't said anything about it, because I made her promise not to, but we've been getting to know each other since you left."

"You have?" He asked, and she nodded. "And Anna is OK with it?"

"Actually, Anna and I have been getting to know each other too." Lorelai revealed.

"You have?"

"Why is that so hard to believe? I am a very likeable person." Lorelai sounded a little offended.

"I know, it's just... Anna was so against the whole you and April meeting thing before, I was just surprised is all." Luke saved.

"I guess we didn't really get along then, but everything's great now." Lorelai said. "After I found out about the baby, I decided to tell Anna, to let her make the decision to let April know or not, and she thought it was a good idea, so we've been hanging out a lot. April even has her own room at the Crap Shack."

"Her own room? But there are only two bedrooms." Luke said.

"I had an addition built." Lorelai told him. "I needed a room for this little guy, anyway, so I thought I might as well get another room done at the same time."

"Wow, a lot has changed." Luke said, more to himself than Lorelai.

"A lot can happen in five months."

xxxxx

"Hungry?" Lorelai asked a little later as Luke's stomach churned.

"I guess." Luke replied. "I haven't really had anything to eat since lunch."

"It's almost nine." Lorelai noted, looking at the clock.

"No, it can't be." Luke looked at the clock too. "Wow. We've been here for over five hours."

"Yeah. Time flies when you're having fun." Lorelai joked.

"I guess it does." Luke agreed, standing up. "I'm gonna get something from the cafeteria, want anything?"

"Actually, would you mind..."

"I am not getting you coffee!" Luke cut her off.

"So not what I was going to say." Lorelai replied offended. "For your information, mister, I haven't had a drop of coffee in over five months."

"Well, you shouldn't. It's bad for the baby." Luke said.

"It's also not the baby's favorite beverage." Lorelai added.

"How so?"

"Well, when I was pregnant with Rory, I had no problem with coffee. I didn't drink it that much, but I could have if I wanted to." Lorelai explained. "This time, I can't even stand the smell of coffee.It makes me sick. I threw out all the coffee in the house, causing Rory to have a mini-breakdown."

Luke chuckled a little at the image.

"So, what I was going to say before you so rudely interrupted me, was would you mind getting me an apple or something?" Lorelai said.

"An apple? Lorelai Gilmore wants an apple? Let me alert the media."

"Apples are my pregnancy food." Lorelai replied. "I ate them all the time when I was having Rory, and apparently, this kid likes apples too."

"OK. One apple, coming right up."

xxxxx

Luke found a pay phone on the way to the cafeteria and decided to call April. He always talked to her at eight, so she would probably be wondering why he hadn't called yet. He put some change in the money slot and dialled the by now familiar number.

"Hello?"

"Anna, hi." He said into the phone.

"Hey, Luke, what's going on? You're calling kinda late." Anna noticed.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I've been kinda tied up for a while." Luke apologized.

"No, it's OK." Anna replied.

"Is April still up?"

"Sure, let me get her for you." He listened as Anna called April, and a moment later his daughter's voice came over the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey, April, sorry to call so late." He apologized again.

"That's OK." April replied. "Gave me a chance to catch up on some homework."

"Like you're ever behind." Luke joked.

"Well, no, but I have some extra credit work that I wanted done before the weekend." April explained.

"Oh, I get it." Luke said, thinking how much like Rory April was in that sense. They both loved learning and school.

"So, what's up?" April asked.

"Well, I'm actually back in Stars Hollow." Luke revealed. "Or, at the moment, in Hartford, but I am back."

"You're home?" April's voice sounded unbelieving, and Luke cursed himself for staying away so long. Not only for April sake.

"Yeah, just got back this afternoon." He told her.

"Oh." He could hear the disappointment in her voice and hurried to continue.

"I was going to come and see you when you got out of school, but I ran into Lorelai." He explained.

"You did?" Luke could hear the guilt in her voice.

"I did." Luke confirmed. "Seems like you've been holding out on me."

"I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry. I wanted to tell you, I did, but Lorelai said she wanted you to hear it from her."

"I know, it's OK." Luke assured her. "I'm not mad or anything, she told me that she had made you promise not to tell me, so it's good that you didn't."

"Really?" April asked in a small voice.

"Really." Luke said. "Anyway, I ran into her and she had these, I think they call them false contractions, so I had to take her to the hospital, and I've been here ever since."

"She's in the hospital? Is she OK?" April asked in a worried voice.

"Who's in the hospital?" Luke heard Anna ask in the background.

"Lorelai." April replied with her hand covering the phone.

"Why? What happened? And how does Luke know?" Anna wondered.

"I don't know, let me ask him." April said before returning to the phone. "Sorry, mom heard me and got worried. She and Lorelai are friends now, you know."

"I know, Lorelai told me that too."

"So, is Lorelai OK?"

"She's fine, they're just keeping her overnight for observation." Luke decided to leave out the part about the baby's heart beat, he didn't want to worry April unnecessarily.

"OK, good." April replied. "So are you going to stay there with her?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd stick around." He tried to sound casual.

"O-K." He could tell April was smiling.

"I thought I'd come by tomorrow, do you get out from school at three?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Actually, we have a half-day tomorrow, and it's Friday, so I was gonna go straight to Stars Hollow from school." April told him. "Mom's visiting my Aunt in Chicago for a couple of days, so I'm staying with Lorelai since Rory'll be at Yale all weekend."

"OK, then how about I pick you up from school?" Luke suggested. "That way you won't have to take the bus."

"OK, that sounds good." April agreed. "They're letting us out at noon."

"I'll be there."

xxxxx

Luke returned to the room a couple of minutes later, only to find Lorelai fast asleep in the bed, her left hand resting on the swell of her stomach. Quietly, he closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair he had occupied the entire afternoon.

She still looked amazing. Even more so now, she seemed completely happy and at peace with herself and the world. Apparently what they said about pregnant women glowing was true.

Putting the apple he had brought for her on the bedside table, Luke leaned back in the chair and watched Lorelai sleep. Her breathing was deep and even, and he was pretty sure she'd be out for the rest of the night. Shifting in the chair, he tried to get comfortable for the night.

xxxxx

Lorelai slowly opened one eye to greet the annoying sun, then the other one. Damn whoever had forgotten to close the blinds the previous night. Lazily she stretched out in the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Hearing a light snore come from behind her, she rolled over to find Luke asleep in a hospital bed next to hers. A smile spread on her face. He had really stayed.

Feeling her stomach growl, she pressed the button next to her bed that called the nurse into the room. A couple of minutes later, a nurse Lorelai hadn't seen the night before came into the room. When she saw Luke asleep, she carefully closed the door behind her.

"So, he finally caved in?" She said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Lorelai asked in a whisper.

"Well, he was up all night, just sitting in that chair and watching you." The nurse replied. "He wouldn't even let me bring the bed in until after three in the morning. You're really lucky to have found a guy like that."

"Oh, no, we're not together." Lorelai hurriedly said. "Not anymore. He's just concerned about the baby."

"Oh, sorry, my mistake." The nurse replied, frowning. She could have sworn that those two were madly in love.

"So, I was just wondering if you could maybe bring me some breakfast?" Lorelai asked, and the nurse nodded.

"Sure, I'll get a tray for you, you were asleep when I made the rounds earlier." She said. "I can't promise it's any good, though, but I think you'll be released soon, so you can have a proper breakfast then."

"Thank you." Lorelai said and leaned back against the pillows as the nurse left. Checking her watch, she saw that it was a little after nine in the morning. She had slept for almost twelve hours. Looking over at Luke, who was still fast asleep, she felt tears rise in her eyes. How would she be able to just be his friend, after everything?

xxxxx

Luke stirred in the unfamiliar bed, opening his eyes to find an equally unfamiliar room. Not that that was something unusual in his lifeover the past fewmonths. Though this time, he didn't wake up alone.

"Goodmorning, Sleeping Beauty." Lorelai greeted him cheerfully. She was sitting up in the bed, eating a bowl of something unidentifiable.

"Morning." He replied, rubbing his eyes. "You been up long?"

"No." Lorelai shook her head. "Just about half an hour."

"What time is it?" Luke looked around the room, but there was no clock anywhere.

"Almost nine forty-five." Lorelai replied, gulping down the last of her food and putting the tray on the bedside table.

"You should have woken me up." Luke told her.

"Why? So you could watch me eat disgusting breakfast?" Lorelai raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, you'll just have to get your entertainment somewhere else."

"No, I just want to talk to the doctor and see if everything is OK." Luke replied, sitting up in the bed and getting rid of the blanket.

"Oh, sorry." Lorelai said, her heart melting a little at his concern. "I haven't seen the doctor yet, but we could ask the nurse if he could come check me out." She giggled a little at her own words. "In a strictly non sexual way, of course."

"I'll just go see if I can find him, I need to stretch my legs, anyway." Luke stood up, stretching his neck.

"Oh, OK. You do that. I'll be right here." Lorelai nodded.

Luke closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment. He just had to get out of that room. She had looked so beautiful, her hair still a little mussed from sleep, it had taken every fiber of his being to not walk over to her and kiss her senseless. Sighing, he walked down the hallway in search of the doctor. How he would be able to be just friends with her was a mystery to him. But he had to.

xxxxx

"Found him." Luke announced ten minutes later, walking back into Lorelai's room.

"Great!" She exclaimed. "Please tell me I can go home."

"Not so fast, missy." The doctor chuckled. "I want to do an ultrasound, just to check everything out. Not that I think there's anything to worry about."

"Fine." Lorelai surrendered.

"I'll send a nurse up to bring you down to the examination room in a couple of minutes, give you time to get your stuff ready. You can leave straight from there." The doctor said and left the room again.

"Help me, would you?" Lorelai said, holding her hands out for Luke to help her up in the bed. "Not as mobile as I used to be."

Luke walked over to the bed and helped her sit up. He then got her purse from the bedside table and the plastic bag the nurse had put her clothes in the previous night.

"Anything else?" He asked, and Lorelai scanned the room quickly.

"My toothbrush in the bathroom." She said, and he went to get it. When he returned, a male nurse was entering with a wheelchair.

"I'm here to bring you down for your ultrasound." He said, and Lorelai made a face.

"Do I have to sit in that? I hate wheelchairs." She complained.

"Sorry, hospital policy." The nurse smiled apologetically.

"Fine, whatever." Lorelai agreed, getting off the bed and sitting down in the wheelchair.

"Aren't we sunny today." The nurse joked, and Lorelai glared at him. "I'll just take you down now."

"Do you want me to wait in the car?" Luke asked, placing Lorelai's things in her lap. She frowned at him.

"Don't you want to come? We get to see the baby." She said.

"No, I do, I do, I just... wasn't sure if you'd want me there." He replied, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

"Of course I want you there, this is your kid too." She told him.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." She insisted. "Unless you don't want to come?"

"No, I do, I just wasn't sure..." Luke started, and realised they were in a loop. "Let's go."

xxxxx

"OK, Lorelai, why don't you climb onto the bed and I'll get everything ready." The doctor told Lorelai a little later, and she clumsily got onto the bed.

"What's that?" Luke asked in a hushed voice, and the doctor chuckled.

"That's a monitor, where you'll be able to see the baby." He explained, hooking the machine up. "You know the drill."

"I'm a master by now." Lorelai joked, pulling up the sheet to cover her lower body and then the hospital gown, exposing her stomach.

"This'll be a little cold." The doctor said, squirting a gel onto Lorelai's abdomen.

"You don't say?"

"Now, if you'll just sit on that chair over there, you'll both get a good view." The doctor pointed to a chair on the other side of Lorelai's bed, and Luke sat down on it.

"Just don't tell us if it's a boy or a girl, I want to be surprised." Lorelai told the doctor as he turned the monitor on.

"Sure. Now, let's see what we can find." He said, placing the ultrasound device onto Lorelai's stomach and moving it around a little bit. "There we are." He pointed to the screen. "There's the head, and the arms and legs."

"Wow. It's a lot bigger than last time." Lorelai said, her eyes not leaving the screen.

"Well, it has been a month and a half." The doctor noted. "That's one active baby." He continued as the fetus on the screen moved around.

"You're telling me? I'm the one who has to put up with the non-stop kicking." Lorelai joked, looking over at Luke, who was staring intently at the screen. "Hey, Luke? You OK?"

"What?" He looked over at her. "Oh, I just... it's..." He stopped, not able to find the right words. Lorelai only smiled.

"I know, it's amazing." She said, and he nodded.

"You haven't been to any of the ultrasounds before?" The doctor asked.

"No, I haven't, I've been..."

"Out of town." Lorelai cut him off. "Unfortunate timing." The doctor smiled understandingly.

"Well, let's listen to the little one's heart, and then you'll be free to go, hopefully." He said, and turned on a little switch on the side of the monitor. A rapid thumping immediately filled the room.

"Is is supposed to be that fast?" Luke asked concerned.

"That is actually perfectly normal." The doctor told him. "And there weren't any more irregularities during the night, so I think we can safely send you home."

"Yay!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Not that I don't appreciate your hospitality."

"I'm sure." The doctor chuckled, turning the machine off. "I printed a couple of pictures for you, I'll just get them while you get dressed."

"Thank you." Lorelai said, and waited until the doctor had left the room before turning to Luke, who was still sitting, staring at the now empty monitor. "You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, turning his attention to her. "It's just a lot to take in at once, and I've already missed so much..."

"Don't think about that." Lorelai tried to calm him. "Think about what's still ahead. There's so much that you will be here for. His or her birth, the first step, first words, birthdays, first day in school, the list can go on and on."

"Thanks." He said. "For not shutting me out completely."

"I could never do that." Lorelai shook her head.

"I know, but still. Thank you."

"You're welcome."


	10. 9 Home, sweet home

**9 – Home, sweet home**

"You can park over there, behind my car." Lorelai instructed Luke as he pulled in in front of her house. "I'm not going anywhere for a while."

"You are not going anywhere, period." Luke corrected her. "The doctor said to take it easy for a couple of days."

"So I can't even leave the house?" Lorelai complained.

"You can leave the house, but not alone." Luke told her. "Take Rory with you, or Sookie."

"Rory's at school and Sookie's busy at the inn." Lorelai moped.

"It's only for a few days." Luke consoled her. "I'll bring you breakfast and lunch and dinner, and you can watch movies in bed. Doesn't that sound good? And April will be here to entertain you."

"I guess I can take it." Lorelai admitted, sounding a little happier at the thought of food being brought to her door and spending the time watching her beloved movies.

"That's the spirit." Luke turned the car off and jumped out, walking around the truck to help Lorelai out.

"Thank you." She said as she stood on the ground. "Your truck is way too high."

"I never have a problem with it." Luke argued, following her across the lawn.

"Well, swallow a ten pound basketball and say that again." Lorelai countered, and Luke chuckled.

"I'll bring a stepladder next time." He joked, and Lorelai glared at him over her shoulder.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you to watch what you say around a pregnant woman? We tend to get very emotional." She said, fumbling for the key in her purse.

"I'll keep that in mind." Luke replied, leaning against the porch rail as he waited for Lorelai to find her key.

"Lorelai, sugar, you're back!" They heard from across the yard, and they both looked over to find Babette running towards them. "We were so worried about you!"

"Well, I'm fine, like you can see." Lorelai replied, not wanting to get into a long conversation with the neighbor.

"I know, Rory told us, but still, you know Morey and I care about you, hon." Babette said.

"I know, Babette, and I really appreciate it." Lorelai's voice softened a little. They were just concerned about her, after all.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and to tell you that we're right across the yard. If you need us just holler." Babette started to walk back towards her house, not paying any attention to Luke whatsoever. Lorelai looked at him and frowned, Luke only shrugged.

"I'll be right back." Lorelai told him and followed Babette. "Babette? Can I talk to you for a moment?" She called after her, and the older woman stopped.

"What's the matter, sugar?" She asked, and Lorelai raised an eyebrow at her.

"What was that, back there?" She wondered.

"What was what?" Babette tried to look innocent.

"You were completely ignoring Luke, unless you have gone partially blind since the last time I saw you." Lorelai said.

"I was just supporting you, hon." Babette explained.

"Supporting me? What do you mean?" Lorelai frowned.

"Well, we all saw the two of you fighting in the square yesterday, so Taylor started handing out the ribbons again." Babette revealed.

"He did what?" Lorelai half-yelled.

"Don't worry, sugar, you're winning by a landslide." Babette assured her. "Nobody likes Luke anymore, after he left the way he did."

"I don't care about that, Babette!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Look, Luke and I aren't fighting, everything's fine."

"Oh, you two are back together, how sweet!" Babette gushed. "Morey, Lorelai and...!" She yelled into the house, but Lorelai shushed her.

"No, we're not back together, but we're friends, OK?"

"But, honey, you're having a baby together, that's not something friends do." Babette argued.

"Well, we are." Lorelai replied. "Could you spread the news around town, get rid of the ribbons?"

"Sure thing, sugar, you can count on me!"

xxxxx

"Sorry about that." Lorelai apologized as she rejoined Luke on the porch. "She's just a little... overprotective. The whole town is, really."

"I get that." Luke nodded. "I mean, they don't know what's been going on, it's only natural for them to blame me."

"I never told them that us breaking up was entirely your fault." Lorelai tried to defend herself. She finally found the keys and unlocked the door. "I said that it was a mutual understanding, which I guess was kind of true."

"It's OK, you don't have to explain anything." Luke assured her, following her into the house. "You were the one who was here every day, it's not weird that they take your side."

"I told Babette to spread around that we're not fighting and that everything is OK." Lorelai said, closing the door behind her.

"Good, the whole town will know within the hour then." Luke joked, but on the inside he was screaming. _But everything isn't OK!_

"Yeah, she'll get Patty to help her and then everything will be back to normal in no time." Lorelai smiled a little. _Only it won't. It never will._

"So, how about a tour of the new and improved Crap Shack?" Luke suggested, and Lorelai nodded.

"Let me just get rid of my purse." She led the way into the kitchen, and Luke followed her. "Nothing's really different in here, we never use the kitchen, as you're well aware of." She joked. "That's April's room, but I'll let her show it to you later, I think she'll want to." She pointed to a door that was where the back door had used to be, only it didn't lead to the back porch anymore. On it was a puple sign with April in white letters.

"I think she'd like that, too." Luke agreed.

"OK, so I guess we're heading upstairs then!" Lorelai walked back through the hallway and started climbing the stairs. "The living room's pretty much the same."

"I can see that." Luke looked around the familiar room. It looked just like he remembered it. Paul Anka, who was asleep on the couch, looked up at his voice, but when he saw who it was, he just went back to sleep again.

"OK, so that's my bedroom, you know that, nothing new there." Lorelai started to babble a little. It had been so long since they had been alone together in the house like this, she was a little nervous. "And here's the nursery." She opened a door opposite the bathroom and stepped inside. Luke followed.

"It looks really nice." He said, studying the room. The walls were painted in an off-white color and the room was filled with wooden furniture, a crib, a cradle, a dresser, a rocking chair, a book case.

"Yeah, Rory and April painted the walls, they wouldn't even let me near the cans." Lorelai said.

"They were right, you shouldn't paint when you're pregnant." Luke told her, and Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I know, I know." She agreed. "So we decided that I would do the final touches after the baby's born, add a little blue or pink, you know? Everything else, the town gave me."

"The town gave you all of this?" Luke was amazed.

"And more, they're really something." Lorelai nodded. "They threw me this wonderful baby shower with tons of presents, so I hardly had to get anything myself."

"I never would have seen that coming." Luke noted.

"I didn't either. But they really wanted to help, with everything, since..." Lorelai cut herself off and looked down at her feet.

"It's OK, you can say it." Luke said. "Since I wasn't here."

"Let's not think about that, OK?" Lorelai suggested. "I mean, you're back now, let's just focus on the future, OK?"

"OK." Luke agreed.

"Oh, wait, I have something for you." Lorelai walked over to the book case and pulled out what looked like a photo album. "Let's go downstairs."

Luke followed her down the stairs again and into the kitchen, where Lorelai sat down at the table and placed the album in front of her.

"Have a seat." She patted the chair next to her, and he obliged.

"What's this?" He asked, nodding at the album.

"This is a baby book." Lorelai told him, flipping the album open. "I wanted to make one, since I didn't really do that with Rory, and I thought that you might like one, too, since you've missed a lot of the 'process'." She turned to an empty page halfway through the album, got the photo from the ultrasound from her purse and attached it to the page. Grabbing a pen, she wrote something under it. "There." She slid the album towards him, and he looked at the photo. Under the picture, Lorelai had written 'Baby Gilmore-Danes, week 31'. Luke flipped back through the pages.

"Thank you." He said, looking up at Lorelai and smiling at her.

"You're welcome." She replied, smiling back. "So, how about you go pick up that daughter of yours and I'll take a nap?" Lorelai yawned a little. "I'm kinda tired."

"You just slept, like, twelve hours last night." Luke reminded her, closing the album.

"Well, baby's sleepy. And you don't argue with the baby."

"Fine." Luke chuckled. "I'll go pick up April, and we'll bring lunch back, that sound good?"

"Sounds great." Lorelai headed towards the stairs.

"See you in a while." Luke said as he opened the front door.

"Bye."

xxxxx

"Luke!" April yelled as she spotted him outside her school.

"Hey, April." He replied a little quieter, moments before being tackled into the side of his truck when April attacked him with a hug.

"I've missed you." She mumbled into an area somewhere close to his stomach, and he uncomfortably returned the hug.

"I missed you too, kid." He said, holding her a little closer for a moment before letting go.

"Where's Lorelai?" April asked, looking inside the car.

"The doctor told her to take it easy for a couple of days, so she's home in bed." Luke told her, opening the car door for her. "I thought we'd stop by the diner and get some lunch for the three of us, how does that sound?"

"Great." April replied, climbing into the car. "I'm starving."

xxxxx

Several heads turned as Luke and April walked into the diner, but most of the diner patrons only nodded and went back to their food. Kirk, however, shot Luke a somewhat frightening look – or as frightening as a look from Kirk could be. Luke frowned at first, but then decided to just let it go. It was Kirk after all.

"So, you finally decided to drop by." Lane said sarcastically as she rounded the counter.

"Well, I couldn't trust the two of you not to burn the place down for much longer, could I?" Luke joked, and Lane smiled a little.

"It's good to have you back." She gave him a pat on the back as she passed him with the coffee pot.

"Hey, boss!" Came Ceasar's cheerful voice from the kitchen. "Glad you're back."

"Thanks, Ceasar, it's good to be back." Luke called back. "Could you whip up a couple of burgers and fries, and a chicken sallad to go?"

"Sure thing, boss."

"Why don't you sit down at the counter, I'm gonna help Lane out a little, they seem swamped." Luke said to April, noticing that the diner was practically full and Lane was running around with the coffee pot.

"OK." April agreed and chose a stool at the counter. Luke went behind it and approached Kirk, who was hiding behind a menu.

"Kirk, what can I get you?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thanks." Kirk mumbled from behind the menu.

"Then why are you in my diner?" Luke wondered.

"Just wanted to hang out a little."

"Well, if you're not going to order, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." Luke told him.

"OK, fine, I'll order." Kirk agreed grudgingly. "But I want Lane to take my order."

"She's busy." Luke frowned, beginning to understand where the conversation was going.

"Then I'll wait."

"You haven't, by any chance, talked to Babette or Patty today, have you?" Luke asked, and Kirk finally put the menu down, letting Luke see that he was wearing a pink ribbon.

"I haven't spoken to anyone since last night, I've been locked in the cage." He said, causing April, who was sitting next to him, to raise her eyebrows.

"Why were you locked in a cage?" She asked, curious.

"Well, see, I've been thinking about getting a new pet, since I had to get rid of Cat Kirk." Kirk started. "And I've always wanted a bunny, but then I thought that I should probably put myself in the bunny's situation, so I would understand it better, and it wouldn't end up the way it did with Cat Kirk, so I had Lulu lock me in a cage once a week."

"OK." April nodded, turning away from him before she started laughing. Luke, however, spotted her grin.

"So you haven't talked to anyone today?" Luke asked, and Kirk shook his head. Luke reached out and took the ribbon from it's place on Kirk's shirt.

"Hey, that's mine." He tried to take it back, but Luke threw it in the trash.

"You haven't noticed that nobody else is wearing those stupid things anymore?" Luke half yelled at him.

"Well, no." Kirk said, looking around the diner to find that Luke was right.

"That's because there is no fight. Me and Lorelai are fine, we're friends, so there's no need for the ribbons. Not that there ever was."

"Oh." Kirk sat quiet for a moment. "I'm very sorry."

"It's fine, Kirk, just order."

"OK, I'll have a quarter caf, and a sugar free donut." He said, and Luke put the donut on a plate before pouring the coffee.

"Here you go."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Boss, your food's ready!" Ceasar called, and Luke took the bag he was holding,and grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge before leaving.

xxxxx

"Food!" Lorelai exclaimed as Luke shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, spotting her on the living room couch, Paul Anka on the floor next to her.

"Well, I'm not technically up." She argued. "Plus, you can't expect me to stay in bed the entire weekend. The couch is fine."

"You shouldn't climb those stairs." Luke argued, putting the food down on the living room table.

"Ooh, it smells good." Lorelai sniffed the air. "So I'll sleep in Rory's room, she won't be home until next weekend anyway."

"OK, good." Luke agreed. "Tell me what stuff you need and I'll bring it down here before I leave."

"Luke, I'm not a cripple, I can get it myself."

"I don't want you going upstairs." He said with a stern look.

"Fine, I won't" Lorelai surrendered. "But April will be here, so she can help me."

"Oh, trust me, I'd be sleeping on this couch if I didn't know she'd be here, keeping an eye on you." Luke assured her and Lorelai made a face. "Now, eat your food."

April was watching the interaction between the two adults from the doorway. Shaking her head, she went to join them for the improvised lunch. If only they could realize what was still there between them.

xxxxx

"So, has Babette been succesful yet?" Lorelai asked as they ate their food.

"Almost." April replied, giving Luke an amused look.

"Almost, what do you mean almost?" Lorelai frowned, popping a fry in her mouth.

"Well, I had a small run in with Kirk." Luke told her.

"That never ends well." Lorelai noted.

"Babette hadn't been able to talk to him yet." April explained.

"Why?" Lorelai asked, but then saw the look that Luke and April exchanged before they both started laughing. "Or don't I want to know?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to get the image out of my head!" April giggled.

"I know, me either." Luke agreed.

"What image? Tell me, tell me!" Lorelai insisted.

"OK, Kirk said that he hadn't talked to anyone since yesterday and then went on to inform us that the reason of that was that he had been locked in a cage." Luke told her, still laughing a little. "And, of course, little Miss Genius over there had to ask why."

"You wanted to know too!" April countered.

"Well, I guess you have a point." Luke admitted. "Living in the same town as Kirk is never dull, I'll give you that."

"So, why was he locked in a cage?" Lorelai pressed on, as they seemed to have wandered from the subject.

"He wants to get a new pet." April revealed.

"Well, of course, because it went so well last time." Lorelai said.

"This time he wants to get a rabbit so, get this, he's tryin to _understand_ how the rabbits feel." Luke started laughing out loud.

"Well, that just makes perfect sense." Lorelai shrugged. "If you're Kirk."

"I never thought Kirk would be one of the things that I would be glad to come back to." Luke said, having calmed down a little.

"It's home." Lorelai said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "It wouldn't be home without Kirk."

"I guess you're right." Luke agreed.

"Home, sweet home."


	11. 10 All I want for Christmas

**10 – All I want for Christmas…**

"Excuse me… sorry… sorry… could you let me through… sorry..." Rory was having trouble maneuvering herself, a large sports bag, a backpack, two large paper bags and a box the size of Ohio through the hallway at Yale. The fact that there were people running in every direction didn't exactly help her case.

Suddenly, she hit a stop. Knowing the corridors in her dorm like the back of her hand, Rory was positive that there was no wall or door in front of her. Which meant that someone, proably a lost freshman or something equally annoying when you're running late, was blocking her way.

"Excuse me, could you possibly move a little to let me through?" She asked through the wall of cardboard in her arms.

"Let me think about that for a moment... no, sorry, I think that will be impossible."

At the sound of the familiar voice, Rory dropped everything she was carrying on the floor.

"Logan!" She threw herself into his arms, which resulted in the two of them in a heap on the floor due to her heavy backpack.

"Nice to see you too, Ace!" He laughed, giving her a kiss that seemed to last forever.

When they finally pulled apart, Rory realized that they were in fact on the floor in her dorm corridor, and started to get up.

"What's your hurry?" Logan asked, grabbing her arm to keep her from moving. "I like it here."

"People are starting to stare." She mumbled, starting to turn slightly red.

"Let them look." He replied, giving her another kiss. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Of course I am, I would just prefer to be seeing you in an upright position." Rory told him.

"Let's see if we can't arrange that, then." Logan got up and held out a helping hand to Rory. "M'lady."

"Kind sir." Rory accepted, and stood up.

"Now can we say hello?" Logan asked.

"I thought we already did." Rory replied.

"I've been gone six months, that wasn't even close to hello." Logan complained, pulling Rory closer by the waist. She willingly obliged.

"Hi." She offered him a smile.

"Hi." He once again closed the distance between them and kissed her. "Now, that's more like it."

"How about we do the rest of our 'hellos' later." Rory suggested.

"I like the sound of that." Logan agreed, picking up the box from the floor before grabbing his own bag. "What is all this stuff?"

"Christmas presents." Rory replied, arranging the rest of her things in her arms and leading the way down the hallway.

"That's a lot of presents." Logan noticed.

"I like Christmas." Rory replied, opening the door and walking towards the parking lot.

"I think you've missed the whole point with Christmas, it's about getting presents, not giving." Logan joked.

"Ha ha." Rory mock laughed. "What are you doing here anyway, I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow?"

"And again I ask, aren't you happy to see me?" Logan put on a hurt face.

"I am, I just thought you would be busy with your family today." Rory put the paper bags down on the trunk of her car so they wouldn't get wet from the snow and got the keys to her car fromher pocket.

"Turns out they had this boring lunch with equally boring business associates of my dad's today, so I was excused." Logan explained, opening the trunk to deposit the bags and box.

"Well, remind me to send him a thank you card." Rory said, smiling.

"I know, a whole day extra, whatever will we do with ourselves?" Logan showed exactly what he had in mind by trapping Rory between himself and the car, his mouth finding the minimal amount of skin that was actually exposed to the cold beneath her ear.

"As much as I'd love to, and I really, really would..." Rory said, pulling away. "I promised my mom I'd be home today, she needs help with setting up for the party."

"But the party is a week away." Logan intervened.

"Six days, actually, and you know how mom can get." Rory replied. "I was going to call you so you could go straight to Stars Hollow tomorrow instead of picking me up here."

"OK, so I'll go with you." Logan concluded.

"You don't have to." Rory told him. "We'll probably be planning the party all day, maybe squeeze in a few peaks at the nursery and baby stuff. Why don't you go meet up with Finn and the others, have some guy time?"

"I don't want to meet up with the guys, I want to be with my girlfriend." Logan objected. "I'll help with the party plans, I'm great at putting together mixed CDs. And the baby stuff I can handle." He took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers. "Or are you trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm not trying to get rid of you, I just thought that you'd be bored." Rory explained. "But if you really want to, you can come."

"How very gracious of you." Logan acknowledged.

"I am nothing if not gracious." Rory replied, taking a few steps towards the drivers side of the car, but she slipped on the icy ground and Logan had to catch her to keep her from falling.

"And graceful, too." He chuckled, helping her to regain her balance.

"Shush, you." Rory slapped Logan on the arm. "So, are you going to follow me?"

"Honor actually drove me here, so I thought I could catch a ride with you." Logan said, rounding the car.

"OK, but I get to pick the music." Rory hurried to lay down the rules.

"It's only a fourty minute drive, Ace." Logan reminded her.

"I know, but I still get to pick." Rory insisted.

"Fine." Logan surrendered, getting in the car. Rory followed his example and then turned the car on. "But I veto anything with dead, German chicks."

"That was one time, one time!"

"My ears will never be the same." Logan shook his head as Rory searched her CD case for the appropriate road music.

"Ah, perfect." She announced a moment later, popping _X & Y_ in the CD-player.

"Now this I can handle." Logan said when _Square one_ started playing.

"I knew you'd like Coldplay." Rory backed out of the parking spot and drove towards the highway.

"So, all well in the Gilmore world?" Logan asked a few minutes later.

"Finals are over, so I'm all good." Rory replied. "Luke's back, so that situation is under control. If they could only see what's right in front of them, everything would be even better."

"What do you mean?" Logan wondered.

"Mom says that they're going to be friends, that that's what they both want, to stay friends for the baby's sake." Rory explained. "But I know that she's still in love with him, and from what April has told me, he still loves her too. It's just a matter of making them both realise that."

"They'll get there, if they're supposed to." Logan said realistically.

"Of course they're supposed to." Rory replied. "Then there's Emily."

"She's not happy Luke's back?"

"That's the understatement of the year." Rory laughed sarcastically. "She knows that she can't tell mom how she really feels, because she wouldn't want Grandma around the baby if she kept bad mouthing his or her dad, so she's taken to complaining to me instead."

"That sounds like fun." Logan noted.

"Big fun." Rory agreed sarcastically. "She's called me every day since mom told her Luke was back, sometimes twice a day. After a while, I just started putting the phone down on the bed while she babbled on about 'Luke this' and 'Luke that'. What, she doesn't think I'll tell mom what she's been saying?"

"But you won't, will you?" Logan stated. "Because you don't want your mom and Emily fighting right now."

"I know." Rory admitted. "I just wish that she would let it go already."

"Emily can hold a grudge with the best of them." Logan noted.

"But that's just it, she's not even the one who's supposed to be holding a grudge!" Rory exclaimed. "If anyone should be mad, it's mom."

"Emily is just... Emily." Logan said. "She'll get over this when she realises that there's nothing she can do about the situation."

"There is nothing she can do."

"Then let her see that for herself." Logan suggested. "The party might be a great opportunity."

"I guess." Rory sighed.

"So, what else is going on?"

xxxxx

"She should have been here by now." Lorelai looked out the window for the fifteenth time in the past ten minutes.

"Maybe traffic was bad?" Sookie suggested, looking up from the piece of paper in front of her.

"Maybe." Lorelai dropped the curtain and sat back down on the couch.

"What do you think about duck for the main course?" Sookie asked, chewing on the pen she was holding.

"Duck?" Lorelai frowned. "Sookie, hon, it's Christmas. Christmas means turkey."

"I thought we could try something a little different." Sookie replied.

"What about 'let's have a traditional Christmas dinner'?"

"Traditional's boring." Sookie complained. "I'm already cooking the traditional dinner at the inn, I thought I'd try something a little different here."

"Sookie, my parents are coming to this party." Lorelai said. "Now, I'm already not their favorite daughter of the moment, let's try and give them as little ammo as possible, OK?"

"Fine, turkey it is." Sookie surrendered, writing it down on her menu. "But I can still make the strawberry and kiwi ice cream for desert, right?"

"You can make whatever you want fordessert, as long as it tastes good." Lorelai replied.

"Great." Sookie wrote the dessert down too, but stopped half way. "Or maybe... no, wait, how about..."

"Sookie, what do you say you think about the desert til Friday, OK?" Lorelai suggested. "You don't have to plan it that far in advance anyway."

"That sounds good, I've got, like, a hundred different ideas."

"I know, honey, I know." Lorelai patted her best friend on the knee. "Just don't wait til the last minute, or it'll end up like that time... is that a car?" She got up from the couch and made her way to the window. "It is!"

"Rory's home, Rory's home!" Sookie sing-songed, going to open the door. "You're home!" She called through the doorway.

"Sookie!" Rory abandoned the bags for the moment, running to the porch and hugging her friend. "It's Christmas!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Christmas is still a couple of days away." Lorelai said, coming out onto the porch.

"Mom!" Rory let go of Sookie and walked into her mother's waiting arms. "It's so good to be home, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"It's only been two weeks." Lorelai objected. "But I know what you mean!"

"So, finals are over?" Sookie asked, breaking the hug.

"Yup, all done." Rory replied. "Now I just have to worry about the results over the holidays. The American school is a wonderful establishment, isn't it? First they stress the students for weeks and weeks before Christmas, and then we have to wonder how we did the entire break."

"It's horrible, let's write to the president about it!" Lorelai suggested, looping her arm in Rory's and starting to guide her inside.

"I come bearing gifts!" Logan's voice came from behind the trio.

"Logan, I didn't think you'd be here today." Lorelai said, letting go of her daughter to greet him.

"I managed to get away a little earlier." Logan replied, shaking Lorelai's hand. "You look lovely as always."

"Did you tell him to say that?" Lorelai asked, turning to face Rory. "You told him to say that, didn't you?"

"I didn't, I swear." Rory said, holding up her hands in defeat.

"She didn't, I promise." Logan cut in.

"OK, I guess." Lorelai nodded. "But I don't believe you meant it for one second."

xxxxx

"Your slave is here!" Luke called into the house when he closed the door behind him. It had been a couple of days since the trip to the hospital, so Lorelai didn't technically have to rest as much any longer, and she had gone back to the inn the day before, but Luke had somehow been roped into keeping the dinner deliveries up. Not that he minded, it gave him the opportunity to see her every day.

"Living room!" She now called back, and he started making his way towards her.

"Now, there's lettuce and tomatoes on the burger, and you will not pick it off unless you want me to force feed it to you later." He said as he entered the living room. When he looked up, he froze. "Rory, hey..." Desperately, he raked his mind to remember if Lorelai had told him that Rory would be home that day. Nope. She had conveniently left out that detail. Seeing Rory had, after seeing Lorelai of course, been the thing Luke had feared the most in returning to Stars Hollow. They hadn't really had a chance to talk at the hospital, and he had no idea where he stood with the young woman who he had, for so long, considered the closest thing to a child he would get. Now, there she was, frowning at him from the couch.

"What's wrong?" She asked, shooting a questioning look at her mother.

"Yeah, what's wrong, Luke?" Lorelai repeated.

"Nothing, I just, I didn't know you'd be home, or I would have brought more food..." Luke tried to shrug off, but Lorelai had caught on to the actual reason.

"Oh, I get it." She said, nodding understandingly.

"Get what?" Rory asked, looking puzzled. "Because I sure don't."

"He thinks you're mad at him." Lorelai stage whispered.

"Lorelai, I didn't..." Luke started, but the women on the couch were now ignoring him.

"Of course, that makes sense." Rory nodded.

"I'm not..."

"He should realise that I can't stay mad at him by now." Rory reasoned, as if Luke had not just spoken. "I mean, how long have we known each other, ten, eleven years?"

"Exactly." Lorelai agreed. "He's just insecure, you know he cares about you, babe."

"Can I get a word in too?" Luke raised his voice a little, finally getting the attention of the two women.

"Sorry, you were saying?" Lorelai asked. "And there's no point in denying it, either."

"Fine, I was a little worried that Rory might not be as understanding about the situation." Luke admitted. "I know how much you care about your mother and that you've probably been worried these past fewmonths, and it would be easy to blame everything on me."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I do blame you." Rory replied.

"If you just let me explain..."

"Partially." Rory cut him off. "I mean, for the breakup and everything. But I know it was mom's fault, too. As for the leaving, no, you shouldn't have, but I get why. And you had no way of knowing what was going on back here."

"Thanks." Luke let out a breath of relief.

"No problem." Rory stood up. "Now, can we say hello properly? We didn't really have the time in the hospital the other day."

"Sure." Luke opened his arms for her, and she walked into his embrace.

"I've missed you." She mumbled, hugging him hard. "And not just the coffee, either."

"I've missed you too." Luke replied, feeling a few tears rise in his eyes, but he was able to keep them at bay. "I shouldn't have stayed away so long."

"No, you shouldn't have, but thats's all forgiven." Rory agreed, letting go of him and sitting back down on the couch next to her mother. "Now, the food issue on the other hand..."

"I can go back to the diner and get more." Luke immediately offered.

"Nah, that's OK, Logan went to get Chinese food anyway." Lorelai waved off. "I kinda forgot about the dinner arrangement in all the excitement of Rory coming home."

"Don't I feel the love." Luke said dryly, and Lorelai gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry."

"I'll just put your food in the fridge, you can have it tomorrow, and then I'll leave you guys alone."

"No, stay!" Rory said quickly.

"Yeah, stay." Lorelai too insisted. "He should be back any minute, eat with us."

"OK, let me just put this away." Luke went into the kitchen and put Lorelai's food in the fridge before getting a glass of water to go with is salad. When he returned to the living room, he gave Lorelai a stern look. "And you will not eat the burger cold again, I'm not sure it's healthy."

"But it tasted fine, and the microwave was sooo far away." Lorelai complained.

"Just humor me." Luke sat down in an armchair and took a fork full of his salad.

"Fine, Mr. Food Police." Lorelai agreed. "I will heat the burger."

"Thank you."

Rory watched as her mom and Luke bantered, thinking of how much it reminded her of old times, as cliché as it may sound. She swore to herself, that if it was the last thing she did, she would get them back together.

xxxxx

"Your mom is quite the handful right now, isn't she?" Logan said later that night when he and Rory were alone in her room.

"I'm sorry, you got a full dose of her today, didn't you?" Rory realised.

"Nah, I enjoy being interrogated." Logan joked.

"She just wants to make sure that you're good enough for me." Rory explain.

"I can tell her right now that I'm not." Logan replied. "I don't know how I got this lucky."

"You sweet talker. You're just trying to get me in bed."

"You're already in bed."

"Well, you know what I mean." Rory playfully slapped him on the arm.

"Is it working?"

"You tell me."

xxxxx

"Why did I decide to have a party here, remind me please?" Lorelai rubbed her back as she paused for a moment. The kitchen was filled with pots and pans of something that smelled wonderful. There was a large Christmas tree in the living room, and the entire house was filled with decorations.

"You wanted a chance to gather family and friends." Sookie willingly offered from the stove.

"And I couldn't have done that at the inn, where there are people to help withthe clean up process?" Lorelai complained, sitting down on the only empty chair in the kitchen.

"We'll help you clean up, you don't have to do it by yourself." Sookie assured her, propping a wooden spoon under her nose. "Taste this." Lorelai obliged.

"This tastes great, Sook." Came her verdict.

"Really? Cause I thought there was something missing." She tasted the gravy herself, frowning. "I got it, more butter!" She returned to the stove as the front door opened and closed.

"Anybody here!" They heard Luke call.

"Kitchen!" Lorelai called back, pushing herself off the chair to greet him. "Hey." She said as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey yourself." He held up several bags. "Where do I put these?"

"Presents?" Luke nodded. "Under the tree." Lorelai told him, and Luke disappeared into the living room.

"How are things with you two?" Sookie asked quietly when he had left the kitchen.

"They're fine, why?" Lorelai replied, getting a pack of paper plates from a cabinet. She had refused to use real plates, knowing the clean up would take twice as long.

"I was just wondering, you know." Sookie shrugged. "I mean, you're not used to having him around all the time like this."

"Sookie, it's a good thing that Luke's back, remember?"

"I know, I know, and I think it's great, but... you two have a lot of stuff to work through, and it seems like you haven't really started to deal with that." Sookie explained, avoiding Lorelai's eyes by stirring the gravy.

"There is no stuff to work through, Sookie, we have worked out everything that we can right now, and the rest we'll just deal with when it comes around." Lorelai said.

"I wasn't just talking about the baby stuff." Sookie intervened.

"Well, there is nothing else to deal with, OK?" Lorelai suddenly sounded annoyed.

"Lorelai..."

"No, Sookie, please." Lorelai shook her head.

"Fine." Sookie surrendered. "But you'll have to deal with it eventually." She added under her breath, but Lorelai had already left the kitchen.

xxxxx

"That's quite a lot of presents you've got there." Lorelai noted as she entered the living room where Luke was putting gifts under the tree. "Have I been a good girl this year?"

"They're not all for you." Luke replied dryly. "And I got Anna and April's presents too, so they wouldn't have to bring them over later."

"Oh, OK. They'll be here at three?"

"They'll be here at three." Luke confirmed.

"Are you going back to the diner?" Lorelai asked. "It's only twelve thirty."

"Nah, I told Ceasar that I wouldn't be in more today, he'll close up in a couple of hours, go home for the holidays." Luke replied. "I thought I'd hang around, help you guys get everything ready."

"Bless you, I don't know what I've gotten myself into." Lorelai said, slumping down on the couch.

"What's the problem?" Luke asked, placing the last few presents under the tree.

"Everything's just a little overwhelming." Lorelai explained. "There are still a lot to do before everyone gets here, and then there's cleaning up after. I get tired just thinking about it."

"Well, I brought the table and chairs over." Luke said. Lorelai had had to borrow a larger table and a couple of chairs from Sookie's house because there would be fourteen adults and three children for the dinner, and Luke had offered his truck for transportation. "How about I get everything set up down here, and then I'll help Sookie with the food, and you go upstairs and rest."

"But I have things to do, I have to vacuum the living room, and make the punch, and set the table, and..."

"And I will take care of that." Luke cut her off. "Where are Rory and Logan?"

"They went for a walk around town, Rory wanted to show Logan the amazing Stars Hollow in the winter." Lorelai said. "But I can't rest now, I have to..."

"No, you don't." Luke interrupted again. "You are too stressed, and you need to rest. Got it? Rory and Logan can help out when they get back."

"Fine." Lorelai surrendered, getting up from the couch. "But call me if you need me for anything." She added as she allowed Luke to lead her towards the stairs.

"We won't." He replied.

"OK, but if you do." She said, walking up a few stairs. "And tell Sookie she has to use the largest of the pots for the jams, or there won't be enough, and tell her..."

"Upstairs. Now!"

"OK, OK, I'm going."

xxxxx

"Hi, guys, thanks for coming." Lorelai greeted Liz, T.J. and Amanda a couple of hours later. "Hi, sweetie, aren't you just the cutest thing, yes you are."

"Would you like to hold her?" Liz asked, offering her daughter to Lorelai.

"Well, hello, doll face." Lorelai cooed, taking the baby from Liz. "I haven't seen you in days, no I haven't."

"What is it with women and babies?" Luke asked no one in particular as he passed them on his way from the kitchen to the living room, where he was in the middle of setting the table.

"You just wait." T.J. told him. "When that's your own kid, you'll be talking baby talk too."

"I'll try to supress the urge." Luke replied dryly.

"Don't listen to him, he's just a mean old man. Yes he is." Lorelai was still using her baby voice.

"Jeez!" Luke rolled his eyes before continuing into the living room with the paper plates he was carrying.

"Are they freaking you out too?" Logan asked, grimacing at the women in the foyer.

"What is it with women?" Luke repeated his earlier question. "Why can't they just talk like normal people around kids, it's not like it'll help their vocabulary."

"I think it's a genetic thing." Logan concluded.

"That sounds about right." Luke agreed. "Seems to affect T.J. too."

"Well, noboby has accused him of being very masculine, have they?"

Luke chuckled a little at that. When Lorelai had first told him that Rory and Logan were still together, Luke hadn't liked it. He hadn't liked it at all. But as he had spent some time with Logan, both alone and with Rory, he had come to realise that the young man was madly in love with Lorelai's daughter. And he had accepted that. He still hadn't admitted it to himself, let alone anyone else, but he was starting to like Logan.

"They sure haven't." Luke now agreed, placing the plates on the large table.

"You want some help with that?" Logan asked and Luke nodded.

"Sure, there are paper cups and some other stuff left in the kitchen." Luke led the way through the hallway and Logan followed. Just as they were safely in the kitchen, a voice cut through the baby talk in the foyer.

"You really shouldn't leave the front door open, this place is like an igloo."

"Emily." Luke sighed. The person he was least looking forward to meeting.

"I take it she's not your favorite person?" Logan noted.

"It's more the other way around, **I'm** not **her** favorite person." Luke corrected.

"She won't do anything, don't worry." Logan assured him. "Rory told me how she's arfaid of Lorelai cutting her out of the baby's life if she lets on how she really feels about the situation, so I'm sure she'll keep it cool."

"Doesn't change the fact that she'll never accept me." Luke shook his head. "I'm not good enough, because I'm not from a rich family. I'm just a diner owner with no future."

"She'll come around." Logan told him. "It just takes Emily a while to adjust to people."

"She loved you from the beginning." Luke argued.

"She doesn't know me. She knows my parents, my last name." Logan said.

"Well, that's good enough in her book."

"Look, she's smart enough to know that she can't do anything about the situation. She can't change the fact that you are the father of her grandchild, not even Emily Gilmore can change the laws of nature. And as for you and Lorelai, you're not together, so there's nothing to break up. Right?"

"Right..." Luke agreed, hesitating a little. "I gotta get the table ready, Her Highness will be expecting dinner at four sharp." He returned to the living room, but Logan lingered a little in the kitchen. Watching the older man leave the room, he chuckled a little. It was so obvious. Rory had been right, at least about Luke. He was still so in love with Lorelai that he could hardly see straight.

xxxxx

"Everybody, dinner's ready!" Sookie announced a little over an hour later. "Let's eat!"

The people, who had been standing around the living room in small groups, immediately sat down at the table.

"It looks wonderful, Sookie." Emily praised as Jackson brought the turkey in from the kitchen.

"Thank you, Mrs. Gilmore." Sookie said, blushing a little.

"Oh, none of that now, it's Emily." Emily chided her.

"Thank you, Emily." Sookie corrected, getting a look from Lorelai. "What?"

"You're fraternizing with the enemy." Lorelai whispered.

"She's not the enemy, I thought things were going good?"

"They were, until Luke came back." Lorelai explained.

"She seems fine with it." Sookie frowned, watching as Emily made small talk with Luke across the table.

"To the untrained eye, maybe, but I grew up with her." Lorelai argued. "I can smell a condescending Emily from a mile away."

"Well, talk to her about it." Sookie suggested.

"I guess I'll have to." Lorelai sighed. "Not looking forward to it, though."

"It'll be fine." Sookie assured her.

"Not so sure about that."

"OK, who wants me to cut the turkey?" Jackson asked, getting a round of 'yes' from the hungry guests. "OK, plates this way."

When everyone had food in front of them, Jackson finally sat down.

"OK, everybody, dig in!" Lorelai exclaimed, causing Emily to roll her eyes.

"Actually, before we eat, I would like to say something." Logan announced, standing up and pushing his chair back.

"This isn't Thanksgiving, Logan, it's OK to eat without saying grace." Lorelai joked.

"I know." Logan nodded. "Still, I would like to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your holiday. You have given me a different view on what family is really about. Growing up, I usually spent the holidays with my sister and an army of maids and nannies, so it's nice to see that there are people who are more focused on family and friends ratherthan on careers and social status still out there."

"Amen to that." Lorelai agreed.

"With that said..." Logan turned to Rory, taking her hand before he went down on one knee.

"What are you doing?" Rory whispered.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He whispered back.

"You can't..."

"Rory." He cut her off. "Spending these past six months without you, have made me realise that I hate being apart from you. Knowing that I have to return to England in a couple of days hasn't made it any easier. I know that we're still young, and I know that you still have school, and we can wait, as long as you want, but I still wanted to do this now." Taking a small, velvet box from his pocket, he opened it to reveal a beautiful, golden engagement band with a heart shaped diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds. "Will you marry me?"


	12. 11 I think we've had this conversation b

**11 – I think we've had this conversation before**

The entire living room was completely silent, everybody watching Rory and Logan intently. Rory, too, was quiet, staring at Logan, then the ring and back at Loganagain.

"Kinda waiting for an answer here, Ace." He said, half joking half serious.

"I... I..." Rory stuttered, but didn't finish the sentence.

"Yes or no will do just fine." Logan was starting to sound a little worried.

"Yes, of course yes!"

"Yes?" Logan asked, incredulous.

"Yes!" Rory repeated. Logan seemed to finally understand, and stood up, pulling Rory with him and into a hug.

"I can't believe you just did that." She mumbled into his neck.

"You better believe it." He replied, pulling back from her a little before leaning in for a kiss. "Happy?"

"Very." They kissed again, before being interrupted by Lorelai.

"You're getting married!" She exclaimed.

"I'm getting married!" Rory returned, throwing her arms around her mother, jumping up and down.

"You'll excuse me if I don't join in the jumping." Lorelai joked, pulling back a little. "My baby's getting married."

"Hey, don't start crying!" Rory frowned as she saw tears in her mother's eyes.

"Happy tears, happy tears." Lorelai assured her, wiping them away.

"OK, then." They hugged again as the others gathered around the newly engaged couple to give them their best wishes.

xxxxx

"OK, who's ready for presents?" Lorelai asked almost two hours later. Everybody had finished desert, which had consisted of three different flavors of home made ice cream, five different pies, a chocolate cake and muffins of several different shapes, sizes and sorts. The table had been cleared and everybody were waiting for the next part of the evening.

"Presents!" Davey exclaimed, causing the adults to laugh at his eagerness.

"I guess that settles it!" Lorelai declared, standing up from the table. "If the gentlemen would please remove the table?" She looked encouragingly at Luke first then Logan and Jackson in turn.

"You heard the lady, we have a table to move." Jackson stood up and everybody else followed.

"Now, grab some of the chairs, because there's not a lot of seats in here." Rory instructed, placing a few chairs around the coffee table.

"Mom wouldn't let me open any presents this morning." April told Rory as she helped her move the chairs. "She said I had to wait until we got here."

"I didn't get to open any either." Rory assured her.

"I thought I gave you a pretty nice present this morning." Logan whispered in Rory's ear, causing her to turn slightly red and slap him on the arm.

"You just pray that I don't change my mind." She threatened.

"You hurt my feelings." Logan complained.

"You'll recover."

"OK, everybody, take a seat and we'll get started." Lorelai announced from a chair next to the tree. Everyone sat down, and Lorelai reached for a present from under the tree, frowning as she sat back up. "OK, I'm gonna need some help with that." Luke hurriedly joined her by the tree, holding up another present. "Thank you." Lorelai smiled at him. "So, first one, and it's for... drumroll please... April!"

April came up to get her present, and Luke handed Lorelai the one he'd been holding.

"And this one's for... Lane!"

Lorelai continued the distribution of presents, with help from Luke, until everyone in the living room had a small pile next to them, some larger than others.

"OK, everybody. Three... two... one... OPEN!" Lorelai exclaimed and everyone tore into their presents.

"What's this?" Rory asked, opening an envelope with her name on it and extracting an official looking piece of paper.

"That shows that you now own a small piece of land, oh, about five minutes that way." Logan told her, pointing out through the living room window. "Consider it a combined Christmas/engagement present."

"Piece of land? What am I going to do with a piece of land?" Rory asked, frowning.

"Well, the house will be a wedding present." He replied.

"A house? You're buying me a house?"

"Actually, I'm building you a house." He corrected. "Well, I'm not building it with my bare hands, but I'm paying for it, so..."

"But... you want to live here?" Rory wondered.

"I know you want to be this big time reporter, so we'll probably have to live somewhere a little more newspaper-y, like you would say, but I thought you might like having a place closer to your mom, you know, for the summer, and holidays." He looked a little insecure. "You don't like it?"

"I love it, thank you so much!" She gave him a quick hug. "I have to show mom." She crossed the room to where her mother was sitting by the tree.

"Hey, get anything good yet? Except for my gift, of course." Lorelai asked, patting the chair that Luke had vacated a little earlier to join April and Anna for a while.

"I got a house." Rory said breathlessly. "Well, the property right now, I'll get the house when we get married."

"That's extortion." Lorelai joked. "Saying you'll get a house if you get married."

"It's not extortion, it's sweet." Rory replied, looking at her mother's pile of now opened presents. "So, get anything good?"

"Mostly baby stuff." Lorelai shrugged. "What are people thinking, I mean, that's what the baby shower was for. This is for me."

"You didn't like my gift?" Rory asked.

"No, honey, that one I loved!" Lorelai assured her. "And don't worry, I'll take you up on it as soon as I can." Rory had gotten Lorelai a weekend at a spa a couple of miles outside of Stars Hollow for two, and the promise to babysit that weekend.

"I'm glad you like it." Rory said. "I thought you could bring Sookie, or... you know, someone else..." She looked meaningly at her mother.

"Rory, hon, you have got to let it go." Lorelai told her.

"But I know that..."

"Rory, please!" Lorelai cut her off, a little more harshly than she intended.

"Sorry." Rory got up and went back to her place next to Logan on the couch.

"Crap!" Lorelai exclaimed. She hadn't wanted to snap at Rory like that, it was just that everytime the subject of Luke came up between them, Rory started pushing her to do something about the situation, insisting that she could tell that he still wanted to be more than friends. Lorelai tried to explain that she didn't want to jeopardize the relationship they had now, but Rory didn't want to hear it.

"What was that all about?" Luke asked, sitting back down on the chair next to Lorelai and looking at Rory.

"Oh, nothing, just a little holiday disagreement." Lorelai tried to shrug it off.

"You two never fight." Luke frowned.

"You seem to have forgotten that we went months without talking to each other just last year." Lorelai reminded.

"Well, yeah, but that was different." Luke argued.

"Really, it's nothing, we'll be fine." Lorelai assured him.

"So, what'd you get?" Luke asked, deciding to drop the subject.

"Tons of stuff, mostly for the baby." Lorelai replied, motioning the pile of opened presents.

"Didn't you get almost everything you needed at the baby shower?" Luke wondered.

"Exactly my point. Not that I'm not grateful or anything."

"Oh, wait, I almost forgot." Luke said, leaving the living room for a moment before returning. "This is for you." He handed Lorelai a rectangular box.

"You didn't have to do that." Lorelai tried to argue.

"What do you mean I didn't have to, it's Christmas." Luke looked at her like she had just told him that she was giving up coffee. "You got me a gift."

"But that was just a small thing, you didn't have to..."

"Will you just open it?" Luke interrupted.

"OK. Thank you." Lorelai started unwrapping the box.

"Wait until you see what it is to thank me, you may not like it at all." Luke told her.

"I'm sure I'll love it." Lorelai replied, dropping the paper on the floor and staring at the jewelry box she had uncovered. She wondered what was inside it. It could be a necklace, the box was the right size. Or a bracelet.

"You kinda have to open the box to see what it is." Luke instructed her. "Unless you've finally got that X-ray vision."

"I was just trying to figure out what it could be." Lorelai replied.

"You know another way of doing that? Opening the box."

"OK, OK." Lorelai slowly opened the velvet box. When she saw what was inside, she gasped. "Luke, this is... it's too much, I can't take it." She took the golden necklace from the box and helt it up in the light. It was a simple chain with a beautiful, heart shaped locket that you could open. The locket had a beautiful pattern of flowers on it.

"Of course you can, it's a Christmas present." Luke said in an obvious voice.

"But it looks really old." Lorelai noted.

"It is, it's been handed down for generations." Luke explained.

"It's a family heirloom, now I really can't take it, you have to keep it in the family." Lorelai tried to give him the necklace but he refused to accept it.

"You are keeping it in the family." He replied. "I got this from my dad before he died, he gave it to my mom when I was born, and he told me to give it to my... I guess he had wife in mind, but you know, to give to my son when he got a little older."

"So you want me to give this to our son?" Luke nodded. "But what if it's a girl?"

"Oh, then I'll want it back." Luke said, completely serious. "Look, I don't really care about the tradition thing, but I want you to have this. And then, in twenty years or so, you can give it to our son, or daughter. OK?"

"OK." Lorelai nodded. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

"You really like it?"

"I love it." She assured him, holding up the necklace to him. "Put it on?"

Luke reached behind her and clasped the necklace.

"How does it look?" Lorelai asked, pulling up a pocket mirror.

"Beautiful." Luke replied.

Lorelai looked at herself in the mirror. The necklace really was amazing. She fingered the cold metal, trying to get it open.

"Here, let me." Luke helped her open the locket.

"There's a picture in there." Lorelai noted, trying to see what it was of.

"My mom always had a picture of me and Liz in there, I put a picture of Rory for you and then I thought you could put a picture of the baby, too." Luke explained.

Lorelai could feel tears staring to rise in her eyes. Damn hormones!

"Thank you. It's really... I love it." She said, wiping at a couple of tears.

"You're welcome." For a moment, Lorelai thought that he was about to kiss her, but then Davey dropped his new fire truck with a loud bang, and the moment was broken.

Lorelai looked around the room at her family and friends, meeting Rory's eyes just as her daughter raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged at her, and Rory shook her head. Neither of them noticed Emily, who had been watching the entire exchanged between Lorelai and Luke, and had a frown on her face.

xxxxx

"So, did you know about this?" Lorelai looked up at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Know about what, mom?" She asked, pouring more soda in her empty glass. They were alone in the kitchen, everybody else were gathered in the living room. The kids had been put to sleep in Rory's room and the grown ups were watching _It's a wonderful life_.

"About Logan proposing, of course." Emily said as if it was obvious.

"Did it look like I knew?" Lorelai replied, putting the soda back in the fridge.

"There's no need to be rude." Emily complained.

"I know, sorry mom. I just had a little argument with Rory, I guess I'm a little off." Lorelai explained.

"You had a fight? What about?" Emily questioned.

"It's nothing, mom, we're fine." Lorelai assured her.

"If you say so." Emily let the subject go. "So, are you at least excited about your daughter getting engaged?"

"Of course I am, mom, I was just a little surprised." Lorelai said.

"As were we all." Emily agreed. "But I think it's nice. Those two belong together."

"Just as long as they don't rush into anything." Lorelai interjected.

"Of course not." Emily replied. "The engagement should be at least a year. And as lovely as Christmas weddings are, I think a nice summer ceremony would be better. Maybe June, or July."

"We are talking a year and a half from now, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Obviously." Emily looked at Lorelai like she had suggested they travel to the moon in a plane. "We could never plan the wedding by this summer."

"Just wanted to make sure that we're on the same page here." Lorelai explained. They were both quiet for a moment before Emily spoke again.

"This is a lovely party, Lorelai, you should be proud."

"I really didn't do much, I had a lot of help." Lorelai replied.

"From Luke?" Emily asked.

"Among others." Lorelai said, wondering what her mother was getting at.

"You know, you could have told me that you two were back together." Emily fingered her purse as she spoke, not wanting to meet Lorelai's eyes.

"What?"

"I mean, it's not like I didn't expect it." Emily continued. "You are having a baby together, and I already knew that you were still in love with him."

"Mom, we're not back together." Lorelai shook her head.

"Really, Lorelai, you don't have to lie to me." Emily sounded annoyed. "I have eyes, you know, I see the way you look at him, the way he looks at you."

"And how is that?" Lorelai asked.

"I think we've had this conversation before." Emily replied. "I was right then, and I am right now. You just wait and see."

"Fine, mom, I'll do that." Lorelai took a deep breath as Emily left the kitchen. "Why did I do this, why?"

"Talking to yourself again? That's not a very good sign." Luke came into the kitchen, an empty popcorn bowl in his hands.

"Just wondering what in the world I was thinking when I invited my parents here tonight." Lorelai explained. "I should know better by now."

"I thought things were going better?" Luke said, setting the microwave.

"They were, it just... I don't know." Lorelai didn't want to tell him that the reason her relationship with her parents were on the track back to where it had been the previous year was that he was back.

"They'll get used to it." He told her.

"Get used to what?"

"Me being around." Luke replied.

"I didn't say that..."

"You didn't have to." He cut her off. "I've been enduring the death stare of Emily for the major part of the evening."

"I'm sorry." Lorelai apologized.

"Not your fault." Luke assured her. "Your dad, on the other hand, has been almost nice."

"He has?" Lorelai said, surprised.

"Yeah, he wished me a merry Christmas and everything."

"Well, he always did know when to admit defeat." Lorelai noted.

"He's trying." Luke gave her a stern look. "You should too."

"I am trying." Lorelai complained. "But if mom does anything to insult you, or..."

"I'll open the door so you can kick her out." Luke agreed. "But I don't think she'll try anything."

"Me neither." Lorelai admitted. "She knows that I wouldn't think twice about cutting her out of my life, again, and she really wants to be involved this time."

"Just give her some time to get used to it." Luke suggested.

"Yeah, I guess. Not a lot else I can do." Lorelai took a deep breath before grabbing her glass from the sink.

"Back into the lion's den?" Luke asked, getting the pop corn that were just done.

"You said it, my friend."

xxxxx

"Bye, guys, thanks for coming." Lorelai said as Lane and Zach left. Everyone else, except for her parents, had already gone home. Emily and Richard were currently talking to Logan about his time in England.

Lorelai closed the door behind Lane and Zach and went into the kitchen, where Luke had started the dishes.

"Could you tell my parents that I'll be right down, I'm just going to the bathroom?" She asked.

"Sure." He replied over his shoulder, watching as Lorelai left the kitchen. As she disappeared into the living room, he turned his attention back to the plates in the sink.

"Where did Lorelai go?" Luke turned as Emily spoke.

"She just went to the bathroom, she'll be down in a moment." He replied.

"Oh. We were about to leave." Emily said.

"She'll be right down." He repeated, returning to the dishes, expecting Emily to return to the living room.

"I'm glad we got a moment alone." She instead said, and Luke sighed before turning back to her.

"Really? And why is that?" He asked.

"There's no need to be smart with me." Emily snapped.

"Look, I get it. You don't want me here. Well, too bad, cause I'm not going anywhere." Luke started. "I know that this is your grandchild, but it's also my child. And you need to accept that, because there's nothing you can do about it."

"Don't you think I know that?" Emily retorted. "I came to terms with the fact that my daughter would be tied to you for the rest of her life a long time ago, long before you even had any idea about what was going on. And I'm fine with that. I have accepted it. Sure, it may not be what I wanted for her, but it's the way it is."

"So what's this about?" Luke asked, not understanding what the woman was going on about.

"I was here. When you took off, just left everything, I was here. Me and Rory and Sookie and that entire town of yours, we were the ones who had to pick up the pieces after you tore my daughter's heart apart." Luke could see how furious the older woman was. "And then you just waltz back here, and she forgives you like nothing happened..."

"You don't know everything that was going on before I left!" Luke intervened.

"I know enough." Emily retorted. "I know that my daughter wasn't herself for weeks, months, and as much as I hated her being with someone who wasn't good enough for her, I hated seeing her like that even more. So I just want to say this. You be very careful, because if you do anything to hurt my daughter again, you will be sorry."

With that she stormed out of the kitchen, leaving a baffled Luke behind.

xxxxx

"Dishes are all done, so I'll just be off." Luke said a little later. Logan had just joined Lorelai and Rory in the living room after helping Luke clean up.

"Don't go, we're watching a movie." Rory replied, looking up at him with a pout.

"You know, sooner or later that won't work anymore." He told her, but took his jacket off.

"Then I will exploit it as much as I can until then." Rory announced, resting her head on Logan's shoulder.

"Don't listen to him, the pout never stops working." Lorelai intervened, pouting at him as if to demonstrate. "Please, Luke, please."

"Please, please, please." Rory joined in.

"For the sake of everyone's sanity, especially mine, stay." Logan pleaded.

"OK, OK." Luke faked his surrender. "What are we watching?"

"Charlie and the chocolate factory." Rory told him, reaching for the popcorn bowl.

"It's on top of the DVD, could you start it?" Lorelai asked, pointing to the DVD case.

"I thought you guys only watched the original?" Luke stated as he popped the DVD in the player.

"We admitted defeat when Johnny Depp got the part as Willy Wonka." Rory explained.

"Well, of course." Luke wondered why he bothered. He would never fully understand the Gilmore girl's movie obsession.

"Sshh, it's starting." Lorelai shushed him.

"It's the FBI warning." Luke noted.

"Just be quiet, will you." Lorelai replied.

"Can I at least sit down?" Luke asked.

"Sure, but hurry up." Lorelai moved over a little, giving him space next to her. "But no squishing. And no talking during the movie, no moving around..."

"I know the rules." He cut her off, sitting down next to her on the couch, remembering the first time they had had a movie night together. _Casablanca_.

"Just reminding you." Lorelai said, taking a bite from a carrot stick.

"You're eating a vegetable." Luke stated, shocked.

"Sshh." Rory shushed.

"Why are you eating a carrot?" Luke whispered.

"I told you, I've cut down on the sugar." Lorelai replied, not taking her eyes of the TV where the movie had started.

"But vegetables?"

"Turns out carrots aren't so bad."

xxxxx

"I think we wore out your mother." Logan said quietly as the credits rolled on the TV.

"She's had a pretty busy day." Rory smiled at Lorelai, who had fallen asleep on the couch, her head resting on Luke's shoulder. "She can't sleep here, we'll have to wake her."

"No, I'll carry her upstairs." Luke stopped Rory's outstreched hand.

"You sure? She has put on some weight, you know." Rory told him.

"I think I can handle it." Luke replied, carefully picking Lorelai up and standing from the couch.

"Night, mom." Rory whispered, placing a kiss on her mother's forhead.

"I'll be right down." Luke said, heading for the stairs.

"We'll be here." Rory replied, sitting back down on the couch, watching Luke as he walked up the stairs. "See?" She said when he had disappeared.

"See what?" Logan asked.

"They are so still in love with each other, we have to do something." Rory exclaimed.

"I know, I've seen it too, but I still say that they'll find their way back to each other if they're supposed to." Logan replied.

"But what if it takes another eight years?" Rory objected. "They can both be very stubborn."

"Kind of like someon else I know." Logan joked.

"Logan, come on, I'm serious here."

"I know you are." Logan nodded. "I really think that you should let them deal with this themselves, but I guess a little meddling couldn't hurt."

"Great! Help me come up with a plan."

xxxxx

Luke carefully put Lorelai down on her bed, not bothering to remove the cover. He pulled her shoes off and found a blanket to cover her with.

"Merry Christmas, Lorelai." He whispered before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Mmhmm... love you." Lorelai mumbled, and Luke froze. Had she really said that? He watched her for a few moments, but she was obviously asleep.

"Just a dream." He mumbled to himself as he left the room. "Just a dream."


	13. 12 You don't know who Greta Garbo is?

**AN: I would like to apologize to all my readers. It appears I missed a chapter, posting chapter eleven as chapter ten. I have fixed this, so things should be a little more clear now! Sorry again!**

**12 – You don't know who Greta Garbo is?**

The days passed, like they always do. Christmas was over, and Logan went back to England. New Years came and went, and then it was time for Rory to go back to Yale, leaving Lorelai alone in the house once more. Since her doctor had made her cut down on the hours at the inn, Lorelai spent way too much time in the house.

"I'm bored." She said to no one in particular on a grey morning at the end of January. It was Monday, and Rory had left for another week at school the previous night. Lorelai didn't remember ever having felt so lonely, not even when Rory went to college in the first place. Yes, she had Paul Anka to keep her company, but it wasn't the same as having another human being to talk to. Abandoning the bills she had been trying to focus on since she got home from the inn, she decided to go out. It was almost time for lunch anyway.

As she walked through Stars Hollow, Lorelai tried to ignore the little nagging voice inside her that kept telling her that she didn't miss having just anyone around to talk to, she missed someone. Funnily enough, that someone was pouring Kirk coffee when she opened the door to the diner.

He looked up and smiled when he saw her. At least she guessed it was because he saw her, she wasn't positive. During the time that Rory had been home, she had kept on insisting that Lorelai talk to Luke, find out where he stood. Lorelai had continued to refuse, afraid to lose him completely. But she had started looking for signs that Rory might be telling the truth, because, God knew, Lorelai wished that she was. But so far, nothing.

"Lunch?" He asked as she sat down at the counter.

"Please." She replied, wriggling out of her coat and putting it on the stool next to her.

"You look chipper today." He noted as he poured her a glass of apple juice.

"Just bored, and lonely." Lorelai replied. "Rory went back to school last night."

"I thought the semester started two weeks ago." Luke stated.

"She went back for the week." Lorelai explained. "It's funny how fast you get used to having someone to talk to that actually answers you."

"Paul Anka's not a good conversationalist?" Luke asked, setting a plate down in front of her.

"Ha ha." Lorelai sighed and picked at the food for a moment before freezing in her movement. "Are you trying to poison me?"

"It's just a salad." Luke pointed out.

"Just a salad? Just a salad, he says." Lorelai pushed the plate to the side.

"It was worth a try." Luke stated, taking the plate and giving it to another customer. He went into the kitchen and came back with a cheesburger instead. "Better?"

"Much, thank you." Lorelai took a bite of the burger.

"So, other than the fact that you have nobody to talk to, what's wrong?"

"There's nothing to do." Lorelai complained.

"Ever?" Luke retorted.

"I mean, I don't have anything to do." She continued. "Besides bills and other boring stuff."

"Is everything done in the nursery?" Luke asked.

"Everything except for the last painting." Lorelai said. "Which someone won't let me do."

"The paint fumes are..."

"Bad for the baby, I know, but I'm still bored." Lorelai finished the sentence.

"Read a book." Luke suggested.

"I've read all the books." Lorelai replied.

"In the world?" Lorelai gave Luke the evil eye.

"No, not in the world." She said.

"So, all the books in your house then?" Luke continued.

"Well, no, but Rory has like a million." Lorelai admitted. "I've read all the books I want to read, OK?"

"So watch a movie." Luke shrugged. "You love movies, there must be one you haven't seen or that you want to see again."

"But I want to **do** something." Lorelai said, stressing the do. "Not just sit around doing nothing, I can practiaclly feel myself getting fatter by the minute."

"You're not fat." Luke argued.

"I look like a house." Lorelai complained. "And it's all your fault!"

"My fault? I remember you having a small part in the process." Luke left Lorelai at the counter to refill some coffee cups.

"Well, yeah, but... can't I just blame you?" Lorelai sighed. "I'm sick of being pregnant."

"If it makes you feel better, you can blame me." Luke told her.

"Thank you, it does." Lorelai smiled. "Not that it helps with my current situation."

"It'll be over in a couple of weeks, just hang in there." Luke encouraged her.

"That's easy for you to say, you don't have to carry around this thing for nine months." Lorelai replied. "I swear, if there ever was a doubt that God was a man, the fact that women have to do the whole pregnancy/birth thing settles it."

"That's it, get your coat." Luke rounded the counter, getting his jacket from under it.

"What? Why?" Lorelai asked, getting down from the stool and putting her coat on.

"We are getting out of here." Luke told her. "Ceasar, I'm going out for a couple of hours, Lane will be in at two."

"No problem, boss." Ceasar called from the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" Lorelai asked, following Luke out into the streets and towards his truck.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked, opening the door for her and helping her into the car before he got into the drivers seat. "Mall, movie, key Taylor's car?"

"You would go with me to the mall?" Lorelai asked, incredulous.

"If it gets you out of the blues you've been in since Rory left, yes." Luke nodded. "I'll even let you drag me into every baby store you want."

"Thank you!" Lorelai reached over and gave him a hug.

"Just don't get used to it." He told her, starting the car.

"I won't." Lorelai promised. "We're going shopping!"

xxxxx

"Hello?" Lorelai answered the phone on the third ring, dropping her purse on the living room table.

"Where have you been? I've been calling you all day, and nothing!"

"Rory, hon, calm down." Lorelai went back into the foyer and closed the front door, which she had left open to get to the phone.

"I will not calm down! I was worried sick about you! You do not take off for the entire afternoon without telling anyone when you're eight months pregnant!" Rory chided.

"Why didn't you try my cell?" Lorelai asked, plopping down on the couch.

"I did, it went straight to voice mail." Rory replied dryly.

"What? But I have it right here." Lorelai rummaged around in her purse, finally finding the phone. "Aha! Oh, sorry, the battery was dead."

"The battery was dead? Mom, you can't let the battery die, you need your cell phone. What if you had gone into labor with nobody around and couldn't call me?" Rory was starting to calm down, but wasn't quite there yet.

"I wasn't alone, Luke was with me." Lorelai told her daughter.

"Oh, OK." Rory had finally stopped yelling. "Wait, why was he with you? Doesn't he have a diner to run?"

"I went there for lunch, and I was complaining about being bored, since I'm not allowed to work as much, and I think he got sick of me whining, so he took me to the mall."

"Luke took you to the mall?" Rory asked, sounding shocked. "Has he ever been to a mall before?"

"Not in the last decade, I'd say." Lorelai replied. "But we actually had fun."

"You mean you had fun."

"Well, yeah, but I don't think he was bored out of his mind or anything. We even went to the movies."

"Wow, Luke spending a day at the mall, who would've thought." Rory pondered.

"Not me, that's for sure." Lorelai agreed.

"You do know why he did it, right?" Rory asked.

"He just did it to be nice, Rory, don't read anything into it." Lorelai tried, but too late.

"Mom, would Luke do that for anybody else?" She insisted.

"Sure he would." Lorelai replied.

"Who?" Rory questioned.

"April."

"She's his daughter, that's different." Rory said. "When are you going to realise that he's still in love with you?"

"When he tells me that he is." Lorelai retorted.

"You mean like you've told him that you're still in love with him?" Rory stated.

"Look, Rory, I just can't." Lorelai mumbled. "I need him to make the first move, OK?"

"Because that worked so well last time." Rory said sarcastically.

"Look, Rory, just leave it, OK? If it's supposed to happen, it will." Lorelai concluded.

"You could help it along a little."

"I can't deal with this right now, OK?" Lorelai said. "We'll see after the baby gets here and things settle down a little, OK?"

"Fine." Rory surrendered. "But don't leave the house without checking that your cell is charged again, you hear me?"

"Yes mother."

"OK, I gotta go, I have a meeting at the paper." Rory said. "Call me tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, babe, bye." Lorelai hung up the phone, leaning back on the couch. She knew that Rory just meant well, but she just wasn't ready to deal with everything yet.

xxxxx

"Lorelai, if you're not out of here in five minutes, I am dragging your sorry butt to the car!" Sookie exclaimed as she came into the lobby of the Dragonfly. "I mean it!"

"It's not nice to drag a pregnant woman around." Lorelai replied, not looking up from the computer where she was putting in a reservation.

"The doctor said that you shouldn't work more than five hours a day, tops." Sookie said. "You've been here the whole day, Lorelai, that's not five hours."

"But I'm bored at home." Lorelai complained.

"What did you think, that you would work until five minutes before the kid pops out, and then hand it off to a baby sitter and go back to work?" Sookie asked.

"Well, no, but..."

"So go, shoo, out of here." Sookie grabbed Lorelai by the arm and started leading her towards the door.

"Hey, I know, let's have a girls night out!" Lorelai said, stopping just inside the door. "We can go see a movie, have dinner, spoil ourselves."

"I can't sweetie, the inn's swamped." Sookie replied. "And even if I could, I don't think the two of us should go off by ourselves."

"Why not?" Lorelai questioned.

"Well, I mean, you only have a couple of days left to go, and what if something happens, and you know how I react in a crisis, I'd probably pass out or something." Sookie reasoned.

"Oh, fine." Lorelai surrendered. "Will you at least come entertain me for a little while, watch a movie or something?"

"Aren't you and Luke having your dinner/movie thing tonight?" Sookie asked. Since Lorelai's little outburst in the diner a couple of weeks earlier, Luke had started coming over every night, resuming the dinner routine they had had before Christmas. The night usually contained a movie or two, also.

"He has to leave early, April has a thing at school." Lorelai explained.

"Aren't you going?" Sookie wondered.

"She couldn't get enought tickets this time." Lorelai replied.

"Oh. OK, I guess I could come over for a movie." Sookie agreed. "Eight sound good?"

"Sounds great." Lorelai nodded.

"Now will you go home? I don't want Luke down here yelling at me for letting you work all day."

"He doesn't have to know." Lorelai waved Sookie's worries off. "I'll leave in a minute, I just have to..."

"No, you don't!" Sookie opened the door. "Go!"

"Fine." Lorelai glared at her friend. "Aren't you bossy today."

"I think Davey's hit his defiant age." Sookie replied. "I've had to argue with him all week."

"Oh, that must be hard." Lorelai sympathized. "I'm keeping my finger's crossed that this one'll be as good as Rory, she never had one. Unless you count last year, when she stole a yacht and moved into my parents house, I guess."

"So, I'll see you in a couple of hours." Sookie said, following Lorelai out onto the porch.

"See you then."

xxxxx

"So, what's the movie of the night?" Luke asked as he followed Lorelai into the living room, a plate in his hand.

"Well, due to the lack of time, I didn't have a lot to choose from." Lorelai complained. "I had _Ben Hur_ in mind, but it's like ten hours long."

"Get to the point." Luke said, sitting down on the couch.

"And the winner is, _Anna Karenina_." Lorelai announced, holding up the DVD.

"It looks old." Luke noted.

"It is, it's from the thirties or something." Lorelai looked at the cover. "Yup, 1935."

"What is it with you and old movies?" Luke asked.

"Well, we're working our way through the classics, this is a definite classic." Lorelai explained. "Plus, Greta Garbo."

"Who?"

"You don't know who Greta Garbo is?" Lorelai looked shocked.

"I don't watch a lot of movies." Luke shrugged.

"That's no excuse." Lorelai shook her head. "We have a lot of work still in front of us."

"Just start the movie already."

"You have to know who Greta Garbo is, she's like an icon." Lorelai continued as she pressed play. "That's like not knowing who Hemingway is."

"Hemingway who?" Lorelai just looked at him in shock. "I'm kidding, I know who Hemingway is."

"Oh, there she is." Lorelai said, looking at the TV. "See, that's Greta Garbo, she plays Anna Karenina. And that's Vronsky, they're in love."

"Will you be quiet?"

xxxxx

"Lorelai? I'm here." Sookie called into the house as she closed the door behind her.

"Thank God." Luke said as he came into the foyer. "An outsider."

"What's going on?" Sookie asked Lorelai, who followed Luke.

"Sookie, you know who Greta Garbo is, right?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course I do, she's famous." Sookie replied.

"Thank you." Lorelai looked triumphantly at Luke. "See, I told you."

"I didn't say nobody knew who she was, I just said that I don't." Luke retorted.

"How can you not know who Greta Garbo is?" Lorelai pressed on.

"So, what movie did you watch?" Sookie cut in, seeing Luke getting more and more annoyed.

"I wouldn't know, she kept blabbering the entire time." He complained.

"We watched _Anna Karenina_." Lorelai said.

"I love that movie." Sookie stated.

"I'm sure it's a great movie, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if you had kept quiet for five minutes." Luke said to Lorelai before turning to Sookie. "The entire movie she kept going on about how I could possibly not know who Greta Garbo is."

"I just thought it was strange." Lorelai defended herself.

"It is strange." Sookie agreed, causing Luke to sigh heavily.

"I have to go." He said, opening the front door. "Call me tomorrow when you've recovered from the temporary insanity."

Lorelai and Sookie started laughing as soon as the door had closed behind Luke.

"He was so... so... mad..." Sookie managed to get out between laughs.

"I know... he's so... easy..." Lorelai chuckled.

"OK, let's pull ourselves together." Sookie said a few minutes later.

"OK, yeah." Lorelai agreed, holding back another laugh.

"You really know how to push his buttons." Sookie noted.

"I know, at first I was just suprised that he didn't know who she was, but then it turned into a game, sort of." Lorelai said.

"The 'see how mad Luke can get without exploding' game?"

"He wasn't really that mad, was he?" Lorelai asked, suddenly a little worried. "I mean, he knew that I was just kidding?"

"I'm sure he did." Sookie assured her. "Anyway, he can't get mad at you."

"Oh, yes he can." Lorelai argued.

"You two never really fight." Sookie continued.

"Are we forgetting the incident with Jess and Rory's car, not to mention two break-ups?"

"But those were extreme circumstances, he doesn't get mad at you over small stuff like this." Sookie reasoned.

"I guess you're right." Lorelai agreed. "I had fun tonight, at least."

"You sure you're up for another movie?" Sookie asked. "You're not too tired?"

"Are you kidding? I'm completely exilerated." Lorelai replied.

"So, what movie are we watching?" Sookie asked, going into the living room.

"Well, I thought I'd let you pick." Lorelai told her. "We have a very wide selection this evening."

"Wow, I feel honored."

xxxxx

"Hey, am I late?" Luke slipped into a seat next to Anna in the auditorium.

"No, they're just about to start." Anna replied. "What kept you?"

"Got into an argument about Greta Garbo." Luke replied, causing Anna to look at him in surprise.

"An argument about Greta Garbo?" She asked.

"Long story." Luke said.

"Did Lorelai make you watch _Ninotchka_ or something?" Anna wondered.

"_Anna Karenina_, actually." Luke corrected. "And you know who she is too?"

"Who? Garbo? Of course I do."

"Of course you do." Luke repeated sarcastically.

"What, you didn't?" Anna asked. Seeing Luke's face, she continued. "You really didn't."

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Actually, yes, considering the fact that she was one of the greatest actresses in the 1900's." Anna replied.

"Was? She's not even alive?" Anna shook her head. "I had an argument over a dead celebrity." Luke muttered.

"So, you've been spending a lot of time at Lorelai's house lately?" Anna changed the subject casually.

"Yeah, you know, she gets bored since Rory's at Yale and she's not supposed to work so much." Luke explained.

"Oh, OK." Anna shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'oh, OK'? You don't believe me?"

"I didn't say that." Anna defended herself.

"It sounded like it was implied." Luke noted.

"OK, maybe I didn't believe you." Anna replied. "All I'm saying is, would you be spending so much time there if you just wanted to be friends?"

"We're having a child together." Luke tried to shrug it off.

"We have a kid together, you don't spend every night with me." Anna retorted.

"That's different, April's... and you..."

"It's different because you're still in love with Lorelai." Anna cut him off. Luke looked at his hands for a moment before answering.

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does! Luke, have you talked to her?" Anna asked.

"No, I haven't and I'm not going to." Luke replied. "And you will not say a word, got it?"

"Fine, I won't." Anna raised her hands in defeat. "I just think that maybe you should talk to her, find out where she stands."

"I don't want to lose her completely." Luke mumbled.

"I don't think you would." Anna tried to reason.

"She said she wanted to be friends." Luke said.

"I know that's what she said, but is that what she really wants?"

"I can't risk it."


	14. 13 Will you please sleep with me!

**13 – Will you please sleep with me?**

"Mom? You here?" Rory called as she entered the Gilmore house.

"Living room." Lorelai called back, and Rory made her way there.

"Hey you." She said, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to her on the couch. "What're you watching?"

"I don't know." Lorelai replied.

"You don't know?" Rory frowned.

"I was watching a rerun of _Friends_, but that ended about an hour ago." Lorelai explained.

"Why didn't you change the channel?" Rory asked.

"I can't reach the remote." Lorelai complained, stretching her arm out to demonstrate the fact.

"Why didn't you sit up so you could get the remote?"

"I'm way too comfortable." Lorelai said. "And let me tell you, after these past couple of weeks, if I find a position I'm comfortable in, I'm sticking to it." She giggled a little. "Dirty."

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, getting the remote and changing the channel. "What about when you need to go to the bathroom?"

"Then I will go to the bathroom. But right now, I'm comfy." Lorelai reasoned. "And I knew you'd be getting home soon, so it all worked out OK."

"What if I hadn't had the day off tomorrow? I wouldn't have been here until late tomorrow night."

"Well, if I had known that you wouldn't be home until tomorrow, then I would of course have called Sookie or Luke and asked them to come over and change the channel." Lorelai said, checking her watch. "Luke should be here pretty soon, anyway."

"Is he bringing food for me too?" Rory asked.

"I told him you'd be here, so I guess." Lorelai replied.

"Great." Rory watched the TV for a moment. "So, this is a new record."

"Record of what?" Lorelai asked.

"I've been here for a whole five minutes, and you haven't complained yet." Rory explained. "I haven't been able to talk to you on the phone for the past two weeks without you whining about how tired you are of this."

"I do not whine." Lorelai argued. "Do I?"

"You've been whining a lot lately." Rory told her.

"I'm sorry, hon, I'm just going crazy here." Lorelai apologized. "I mean, did anyone bother telling this kid that he was supposed to be here two weeks ago?"

"It's not two weeks yet, is is?" Rory asked. It was February 16th, and Lorelai's due date had been February 5th, something Rory had been reminded of every time she had spoken to her mother since that day.

"It will be on Sunday." Lorelai said. "The 19th."

"Didn't the doctor say they would give you something to induce labor if nothing happened by then?" Rory wondered.

"Yeah, but that's three days away." Lorelai complained. "I want this done now."

"Well, have you tried those things in the pamphlet the doctor gave you?"

"Almost." Lorelai nodded.

"Almost? Why almost?" Rory frowned.

"Well, there's one in there that kind of requires assistance." Lorelai said, getting the brochure from the table next to the couch.

"What do you mean assis... oh." Rory found the paragraph her mother was referring to.

"Exactly!"

"But how would sex help to induce labor?" Rory wondered. "Isn't that what started this whole thing?"

"Don't ask me, but it's in there." Lorelai shrugged. "See, here's where it comes in handy to have a partner when you're having a kid."

"You could always ask..." Rory said, letting her mother finish the sentence herself.

"No, I couldn't." Lorelai shook her head. "Could I?"

"It is partly his fault you're in this position in the first place." Rory reasoned.

"You don't think it would be weird?" Lorelai asked.

"Maybe a little." Rory said truthfully. "But at this point, do you care?" Lorelai sat in silence for a while.

"You're right, I don't!" She said a moment later. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, so he should help me, right?"

"Right!" Rory agreed. "Just, I don't want to be in the room when you ask him, OK? That would be too embarrassing."

"I think that can be arranged." Lorelai nodded. At that moment, they heard the door open and close.

"Anybody here?" Luke's voice came into the living room.

"Go, go!" Lorelai ushered Rory up from the couch.

"Now?" She whispered.

"Might as well get it over with." Lorelai reasoned.

"OK, call me when you're done." Rory headed for the stairs, but turned before walking up it. "Not done, done, you know, just... done."

"Honey, we're not gonna do it right here on the couch." Lorelai assured her.

"Right, good." Rory hurried up the stairs as Luke came into the room.

"Hey, was that Rory running upstairs?" He asked, setting down a paper bag on the table.

"Yup." Lorelai replied, looking in the bag. "Yummy, chili fries."

"And why did she run upstairs when I walked into the room?" Luke continued as Lorelai seemed to have lost interest in the subject.

"Oh, I wanted to talk to you, so she gave us some privacy." Lorelai said as if it was obvious.

"What did you want to talk about?" Luke asked.

"Well, you know how today is the 16th, right?" Lorelai started.

"Right." Luke agreed.

"And this little guy was suppose to make his appearance eleven days ago." Lorelai continued.

"I am aware of that, yes."

"So, my dilemma is this; I have tried everything, and I do mean everything, to get this baby out of me." Lorelai explained.

"Are you sure that's good? Don't babies get here when they're ready?" Luke frowned.

"It's OK, the doctor gave me this brochure with different methods of starting labor when you're overdue." Lorelai showed him the brochure.

"So you've tried everything in here?" Luke asked, looking at the pamphlet.

"I have tried **almost** everything in there." Lorelai replied.

Luke continued to look through the brochure. Lorelai could tell the moment he spotted the sex advice, because his eyes widened.

"I hope you're not asking me what I think you're asking me." He said, putting the brochure down on the table.

"But Luke..."

"Because the answer would be no." He cut her off. "We... couldn't."

"Why not? It's not like we haven't before, evidence present." Lorelai argued and pointed to her stomach.

"But we're not... it would just be weird." Luke said.

"Maybe, but quite frankly, I don't care." Lorelai heard her voice get higher. "I am desperate, Luke. Haven't you heard me complaining over the past week?"

"I have, and I understand, but we still can't."

"You owe me!" Lorelai pulled out her last card. "This is your fault, you have to help me."

"Lorelai, I just... can we not talk about it?" Luke refused to meet her eyes.

"Will you please sleep with me?"

"No!" Luke would have laughed at the conversation if it wasn't for the fact that Lorelai now had tears in her eyes.

"I get it, you don't want to." Lorelai knew that she was being silly, but damn it, she was very hormonal at the moment! "I'm fat, and ugly, and hideous. Why would anybody want to sleep with me?"

"No, that's not... Lorelai, look at me." She reluctantly looked up at him, and he wiped a few tears away from her cheek with his thumb. "You are not ugly, or fat or hideous for that matter. I just feel that, if we do this, it would change our relationship. Maybe complicate it even more, and it's pretty complicated as it is, don't you think?"

"I guess." Lorelai admitted, sniffling a little.

"Are we OK?" He asked, and she nodded slightly.

"Just so you know, I will keep complaining, and now you don't get to tell me to stop!"

"Complain all you want." He replied.

"OK, good." Lorelai nodded. "I'm hungry."

"Then let's eat." Luke stated.

"Rory, hon, you can come down now." Lorelai called.

"Why did she go upstairs?" Luke asked again.

"She didn't want to be here when I, you know, she thought it would be too awkward." Lorelai explained.

"You discussed this with Rory?" Luke asked, looking horrified.

"Of course I did, I talk to Rory about everything." Lorelai replied calmly.

"But, you can't... I mean, that's..."

"You two done talking?" Rory cut Luke off as she came into the room.

"All done, sweetie." Lorelai patted the couch next to where she was sitting. "Let's eat."

xxxxx

"Lorelai, Rory, it's good to see you." Emily greeted as Liesel escorted them into the living room. "Lorelai, how are you feeling?"

"Like I'm about to pop any minute." Lorelai replied.

"Well, no wonder." Emily noted. "Why don't they do something at the hospital, this can't be good."

"They will, mom, they just have rules and things that they have to follow." Lorelai explained.

"To wait two weeks? I think that's ridiculous." Emily stated.

"Well, that's just the way it is." Lorelai concluded, sitting down on the sofa.

"And you've tried everything the doctor told you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Lorelai nodded.

"Pretty much? What does that mean?" Emily looked at Rory.

"Well, there is this one thing that you sort of have to be two to be able to pull off." Rory told her grandmother.

"Rory! I thought we agreed not to talk about that here?" Lorelai said.

"I said I wouldn't bring it up, but Grandma asked." Rory shrugged.

"What is the problem, Lorelai? I do know what sex is, you know." Emily intervened.

"So not a sentence I ever wanted to hear from my mother." Lorelai complained.

"Well, you're here, so I must have done something right." Emily winked at Rory, showing her that she was teasing Lorelai. "They used that back when you were born too, Lorelai, I think it has to do with the movement or something."

"Ah, bad visual, bad, bad visual!" Rory shook her head as if to try to get rid of the images.

"Really, mom, can we just drop the subject, please?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, what's the problem with that? I'm sure Luke would be happy to oblige." Emily noted.

"Grandma!" Rory exclaimed, looking at her grandmother in horror.

"What?"

"Mom, just let it go, OK?" Lorelai pleaded.

"You can at least talk to him about it." Emily continued. "God knows we'll all be that much happier after the baby's born."

"I did talk to him, OK mom?" Lorelai surrendered.

"And he said no?" Emily looked surprised.

"Yes, he said no." Rory replied, as Lorelai seemed to zone out.

"Well, you can always try again." Emily reasoned.

"I actually don't think that'll be necessary." Lorelai said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Emily wondered.

"Because I think my water just broke." Lorelai announced, pressing a hand to the side of her stomach. "And, also, ow!"

"Your water broke? Right now?" Emily asked in horror.

"Yes, mom, sorry I didn't get off the good couch first, didn't really have a lot of warning."

"Are you OK?" Rory asked in concern.

"A lot of pain, babe, a lot of pain." Lorelai replied.

"Well, shouldn't the contractions start way before the water breaks?" Rory wondered. "You haven't had them all day and not told me, have you?"

"No, honest, they just started." Lorelai promised. "I've had some tension in my back for a couple of days, but I just thought it was natural. It's been a while, you know."

Emily, who had been sitting staring into space for a moment, suddenly came back to reality.

"Richard! Get the car!" She called through the house, and a moment later, Richard appeared in the doorway.

"What's all the commotion about?" He asked in an annoyed voice. "I was on the phone with Taiwan."

"Lorelai's in labor, we have to go to the hospital." Emily told him.

"She's what? But... now?" Richard stuttered.

"Yes, now, dad, sorry to drag you away from Taiwan." Lorelai said.

"OK, I'll get the car, you two get her outside." Richard instructed, suddenly taking control of the situation.

"Right, let's go." Emily said as Richard had left the room. She helped Lorelai up with Rory's assistance, and they walked towards the front door.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" Lorelai stopped halfway, moaning in pain. "Rory, if I ever talk about how great it would be to have another kid, remind me of this moment, OK?"

"I will." Rory promised. "Can we keep going?" Lorelai nodded and they started walking again, this time making it all the way to the car.

"Everybody in and buckled up?" Richard asked from the front seat.

"All done, Grandpa." Rory replied, squeezing her mother's hand. "You OK?"

Lorelai just nodded, her eyes closed against the pain. Richard pulled out of the driveway and down the street. When the contraction subsided, Lorelai looked at Rory.

"Do you have your cell with you?"

"Yeah, it's right here." Rory pulled it out of her pocket.

"Great, I left my purse back there." Lorelai said.

"Right, call Luke." Rory realised, pressing the speed dial on her phone. It rang a few times before Luke answered.

"Yeah?"

"Luke hi, it's Rory." She said, not sure how to start.

"Rory, hey. Aren't you at dinner with the grandparents?" She could practically hear him frowning over the line.

"We were, but now we're sort of on our way to the hospital. Hartford Memorial." She explained, hoping he'd get the idea.

"The hospital, but why..." He was quiet for a moment. "I'll be right there."

"He's on his way." Rory told her mother as she hung up.

"He'd better hurry, I don't think this kid is very patient."

xxxxx

"Lorelai, hi, my name is Sally and I'll be your nurse." A short, blonde woman said with an annoying smile.

"Great, can you get me some drugs?" Lorelai replied, getting a frown in return. "I'm in a lot of pain here."

"Well, first I have to examine you, see how far we've gotten." The nurse explained. "Do you think you can change into this robe, or do you want some help?" She held up a hospital gown.

"I think I'll manage, thanks." Lorelai said, taking the gown.

"Then I'll just wait outside for a moment." The nurse left the room and Lorelai started undressing, glancing at the watch as she did. It had been fifteen minutes since Rory had called Luke, he should be there soon.

She put the gown on and went to open the door a little.

"All done." She told the nurse who was waiting outside.

"Good, then let's see what we've got here." The nurse helped Lorelai back to the bed. "How long have the contractions been going on?"

"I guess pretty much all day, but I haven't noticed them." Lorelai said. "They just got painful about twenty minutes ago."

"And that's when your water broke?"

"That's about it, yeah." Lorelai nodded.

"Well, if you'll just lie down, I'll do a quick examination." Lorelai obliged. "Oh, my." The nurse said a moment later.

"Oh my? Oh my what?" Lorelai asked nervously.

"Seems like you're just about ready to deliver." The nurse explained.

"What? No I'm not, I just got here, I need drugs and..."

"Well, this baby doesn't care about that." The nurse cut her off, getting a phone off the wall. "Yes, hi, I'm taking Miss Gilmore into delivery room five, I need a doctor as soon as possible. Thank you."

"No, but wait." Lorelai tried, but the nurse didn't listen, she just rolled the bed out of the room and started down the hallway.

"What's going on?" Emily asked, her, Richard and Rory having joined the procession down the corridor.

"I'm taking your daughter into the delivery room, mam." The nurse replied.

"The delivery room? But we just got here." Emily argued.

"I tried that too, mom, it didn't work." Lorelai piped up from the bed.

"She's ready to have this baby, no matter what you say." The nurse said. "Now, is anyone going in with her?"

"Yes, Luke is going with me, but he's not here yet so we have to wait." Lorelai knew she sounded unreasonable, but she didn't care.

"Sorry, Lorelai, you're going to have to do this without him." The nurse replied before turning back to the others. "Is anyone coming with us?"

"I'll go." Emily offered, seeing Rory turn slightly green. "Luke will be here any minute, anyway."

"Thanks, mom." Lorelai said gratefully.

"If you'll just go with me, and Dr. Summers will take care of Lorelai. We'll be in room five." The nurse told Rory and Richard before taking Emily to get scrubbed in.

"Hi, Lorelai, I'm doctor Summers." A woman in her fourties said. Lorelai hadn't even noticed her.

"Hi." She managed a half smile.

"So, let's go have a baby, shall we?"

"I guess so." Lorelai nodded and the doctor rolled the bed into a room right in front of them.

"OK, all settled." The doctor said, connecting a couple of monitors to Lorelai's stomach. "You OK?"

"Apart from the excrutiating pain, pretty good." Lorelai joked.

"Well, I'll just do an examination, and then we'll get you an epidural, that sound good?" The doctor pulled a metal stool up to the end of Lorelai's bed.

"Sounds heavenly." Lorelai replied.

"OK, can you move down a little, I need to take a look at how it's going down here." Lorelai obliged, letting the doctor do the examination. "OK, I have good news and bad news." The doctor announced when she was done.

"I'll take the good news first, please." Lorelai said.

"The good new is that it looks like we'll be done here very soon." The doctor started. "The bad news is that I can't give you anything for the pain."

"What? But I need something, I can't do this otherwise." Lorelai felt panic rising in her chest.

"I'm sorry, but even if I do give you an epidural, this baby will already be here by the time it takes affect." The doctor gave Lorelai an apologetic look.

"OK, you don't understand, I need this..." Lorelai looked up as the door opened to reveal her mother. "Mom, tell her that I need some drugs."

"What's going on?" Emily asked, taking Lorelai's hand in her own.

"I was just explaining to your daughter that it's too late to administer an epidural." The doctor explained. "The baby has moved into the birth canal and it's only a matter of minutes before it will be here."

"Mom, tell her." Lorelai pleaded, tears in her eyes. "I can't do this, I need something... and Luke, he's not here, he's supposed to be here, tell her."

"Lorelai, listen to me." Emily took her other hand in hers. "You can do this, and you will, just listen to the doctor.

"When you feel the next contraction, I need you to push, OK Lorelai?" The doctor told her, but Lorelai just shook her head.

"No, I can't, I need Luke to be here, he's supposed to be here."

"There's a contraction coming up, you need to push." The doctor insisted.

"Lorelai, you're not doing Luke any favors by not doing what the doctor says." Emily tried to tell her. "It's not good for the baby."

"OK, Lorelai, push!" The doctor said, and she did. "OK, good, you can breathe."

Lorelai leaned back in the bed, looking pleadingly at her mother.

"Is he coming, mom?"

"He'll be here soon, darling, he'll be here soon." Emily soothed, stroking Lorelai's hair. As if he had heard her, the door burst open and Luke came rushing in.

"I'm here, I'm here." He rushed to the bed.

"Just in time, too." The doctor noted. "OK, Lorelai, here's another one, push."

Luke took the hand that Emily wasn't holding. Lorelai took a deep breath before pushing as hard as she could.

"That's good, keep going." The doctor instructed. "And relax."

Lorelai breathed deeply, leaning back in the bed.

"I can't, it hurts too much." She cried.

"You can do this, Lorelai." The doctor encouraged her. "I can already see the baby's head, just a couple more of those and we'll be all done."

"I can't." Lorelai insisted.

"You can do this." Luke told her. "You have to, I'm right here, you can do this."

"And push!"

Despite the pain, Lorelai did as she was instructed, trying to block everything else out.

"Good, the head's completely out." The doctor told her as the contraction ended. "Another one and your baby will be here."

"Did you hear that? Just one more." Emily said, and Lorelai nodded.

"OK, one last time, push. A little more, keep going... and it's a boy!"

Lorelai slumped back in the bed, all energy gone.

"It's a boy, Lorelai, look at him!" Her mother said, squeezing her hand.

"I told you." She mumbled, looking at the tiny baby the doctor was holding up. "He's beautiful."

"He's perfect." Luke corrected.


	15. 14 Let me tell you about Stars Hollow

**14 – Let me tell you about Stars Hollow**

"What's taking so long?" Rory complained to her grandfather. They were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting to hear what was going on in the delivery room. Luke had gone into the room when he got there a little earlier, but nobody had comebackoutyet.

"You have to be patient, having a baby can take a while." Richard replied calmly.

"But they took her into the delivery room, isn't that where they deliver the baby?" Rory asked.

"It won't be over just like that, it can take hours still." Richard said.

At that moment, Emily came into the waiting room, pulling the hospital scrubs off.

"Is everything OK?" Rory rushed up to her grandmother.

"It's a boy." Emily revealed, practically beaming. "You have a little brother!"

"It's a boy?" Rory repeated. "I'm a big sister!" She threw her arms around her grandmother, who hugged her back.

"Everything went fine, your mom's just resting." Emily said, pulling out of the embrace.

"Can I see her?" Rory asked.

"We should probably let her rest." Emily reasoned. "She's had a tough day."

"I guess I can come back tomorrow." Rory agreed.

"Why don't you stay with us tonight, so you won't have to go home to an empty house, and we'll come back here first thing in the morning?" Richard suggested, having joined the women.

"OK, that sounds good." Rory nodded. "Can we see the baby before we leave?"

"Of course we can." Emily replied. "The nurse just took him to get cleaned up and weighed and everything. Luke will bring him out when they're done."

"Well, I am going to go and call the club." Richard anounced. "They'll need time to get the cigars in order. I have a grandson!" He took off down the hallway, Emily and Rory staring after him.

"He sure is excited." Rory noted.

"He always did want a grandson." Emily stated.

"Hey!"

"Oh, after your mom had you, of course." Emily hurried to add.

"Thank you." Rory looked up as someone came into the waiting room, finding Luke in front of her. "Hey, there you are!" She took a couple of steps forward, her eyes on the bundle of blankets in Luke's arms.

"I would like you to meet someone." Luke said, pulling the blanket aside a little. "This is William Richard Gilmore-Danes."

"Richard?" Emily asked. "I'll never hear the end of it."

"How come it's Gilmore-Danes and not the other way around?" Rory wondered.

"We just thought it sounded better." Luke replied. "Would you like to hold him?"

"Is that OK?" Rory asked, looking up at Luke with a questioning look on her face.

"Considering the fact that you will be doing a lot of baby sitting in the not too distant future, I'd say it's required." Luke said, helping Rory to get the baby settled in her arms.

"Hi, William." Rory cooed. "Aren't you just the cutest baby in the world?"

"And it begins!" Luke complained.

"I expect you'll be hearing a lot of baby talk in the future." Emily said. "You might as well get used to it."

"I guess." Luke shrugged. "Listen, thanks for the help in there. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You would have been fine." Emily assured him.

"Maybe, but still. Thank you." Luke repeated.

"You're welcome."

"Grandpa, look, isn't he just the cutest?" Rory exclaimed at that moment, as Richard came back into the waiting room. "And his middle name's Richard, after you."

"Really?" Richard asked, looking touched. "Well, I'd say that's one of the cutest babies I have ever seen." He added after taking a good look at William. "He's right up there with you and your mom."

"Grandpa!" Rory blushed a little.

"Do you mind if I hold him?" Richard asked, and Rory shook her head. Richard took William from her, holding him as a professional. "Well, hello there, young man. Welcome to the family."

"Someone who doesn't speak baby talk, hallelujah." Luke exclaimed.

"There's no point with baby talk, really, it just stunts the baby's speech development." Richard replied.

"Tell that to them." Luke indicated Rory and Emily.

"Women." Richard shook his head.

"Exactly." Luke agreed.

"Hey, we're right here." Rory said, trying to sound annoyed. She was really pleased that Luke seemed to be getting along with Richard.

"Yes, Richard, really." Emily complained.

"I was only saying." Richard defended himself, giving William back to Luke. "We should get going."

"Yes, we should." Emily agreed.

"No, stay, I'm sure Lorelai wants to see you." Luke said.

"Lorelai needs to rest, and you two need time to get to know this little guy better." Richard replied. "We'll be back tomorrow morning, bright and early."

"OK." Luke agreed. "Could you maybe drive Rory home, it's pretty late."

"I'm staying with Grandma and Grandpa tonight." Rory told him. "I'll come back with them in the morning."

"OK, good, I don't want you driving home by yourself."

"Don't worry." Rory assured him.

"Could you call everyone?" Luke asked and Rory nodded.

"I'll call Babette, she'll have the word out in no time." She said.

"OK, great, so I'll see you tomorrow, then." Luke replied.

"See you tomorrow." Rory agreed, and they left the waiting room, Rory and her grandparents heading for the exit and Luke going back to Lorelai's room.

xxxxx

Lorelai opened her eyes as she heard the door open.

"Hey." She greeted as Luke entered the room, William in his ams.

"Hey." He replied, walking up to the bed.

"Wanna come to mommy?" Lorelai held her arms out for her son, and Luke put William in them. "Where's everybody?"

"They went home, I said you probably wanted to see them but they thought you needed the rest." Luke explained, sitting down in the chair next to Lorelai's bed. "They'll be back tomorrow."

"I wanted to see Rory." Lorelai frowned.

"You'll see her tomorrow." Luke replied. "You should probably get some sleep, anyway."

"I'm not tired." Lorelai yawned, proving her point.

"Sure you're not." Luke said sarcastically.

"OK, maybe a little." Lorelai admitted, holding William up for Luke to take him. "Are you going home?"

"Nah, I thought I'd stick around." Luke replied, taking William from her.

"You don't have to." Lorelai told him, yawning again.

"I want to." He assured her, and Lorelai nodded.

"OK. Night."

"Good night."

xxxxx

Lorelai wasn't sure what had woken her up, but she was awake now. She didn't think that she had been asleep for long, because she could hear Luke talking to someone, so it couldn't be that late. Turning around in the bed, she was about to see who Luke was talking to when he spoke again.

"So, I guess introductions are in order, huh?" He paused for a moment. "Well, I'm your dad, if you hadn't figured that out. That's your mom, over there. She's asleep right now, you wore her out a little. The older couple before, they're your grandparents, your mom's parents, Richard and Emily. They're really good people, they just hide it well." He chuckled a little before continuing. "They're the only grandparents you have, because my parents died a long time ago. They would have loved you. I'll show you pictures when you're a little older."

Lorelai dared to open her eyes a little. Luke was sitting in the chair he'd been in when she fell asleep earlier, but he was turned slightly away from the bed. He had his feet up on another chair, and she could see William in his arms.

"You also saw your sister before, Rory. Well, one of your sisters. Your other sister, April, will be here tomorrow, she's looking forward to meeting you. That covers pretty much the closest family. Then there's your aunt Liz, she's my sister, and her husband, your uncle T.J. He's a nut case, so don't pay too much attention to him. They have a daughter, your cousin Amanda, she's two months old.

You're probably gonna figure out that our family is a little weird sooner or later, so I might as well explain everything now. Your sisters are really only your half sisters. Your mom had Rory when she was sixteen, and Rory's dad, Christopher, wasn't really around much when she grew up. He is a little more now, though, so you'll probably see him from time to time, and his daughter, GiGi, too. She's Rory's half sister, which makes her your... well, nothing, I guess. But she's kind of family. And April is my daughter, but I didn't know that until about a year or so ago, when she did a science project to find out who her dad was. Her mom, Anna, will probably be around a lot, she and Lorelai are friends now.

Then we have your aunt Sookie and uncle Jackson. They're not really family, but Sookie and your mom have been friends for a long time. They have two kids, too, Davey, he's three, and Martha who's one and a half. You'll probably go to school with them later on. So, moving on to the crazy town we live in. Let me tell you about Stars Hollow. The number one rule, do not do anything that Taylor tells you, no matter how tempting it is to agree to get him to shut up. Rule number two; watch out for Miss Patty, or she'll eat you alive. Also don't tell her, or Babette, your neighbor, anything that you don't want the entire town to know within the hour. And Kirk, don't even get me started. The best thing to do is to avoid him completely, but that'll probably be hard, so what you want to think about is..."

Lorelai smiled a little and let sleep take over again. Luke had it covered for the moment.

xxxxx

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, rushing to Lorelai's hospital bed.

"My baby!" Lorelai replied, hugging Rory close.

"No, that's your baby, remember?" Rory said, indicating William who was asleep in his crib.

"You will always be my baby." Lorelai told her.

"Good to know that I'm not out in the cold now." Rory joked.

"Never." Lorelai assured her.

"So, how are you feeling?" Rory asked, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

"Pretty good." Lorelai nodded. "A little sore here and there, not getting into details..."

"Thank you."

"But over all, pretty good." Lorelai concluded.

"You still want me to talk you out of it if you ever decide to have another kid?" Rory wondered.

"That was in the heat of the moment." Lorelai replied.

"Just checking." Rory said. "Speaking of, where is Luke?"

"How is that a speaking of?" Lorelai questioned.

"You know, kids, Luke, seemed appropriate." Rory shrugged.

"Rory..."

"Fine, dropping it." Rory surrendered. "So, where is he?"

"He went to get some breakfast, apparently the hospital food is just for the patients." She explained.

"Who would've thought?"

"Well, not me." Lorelai agreed. "So, he'll probably be gone for a while, considering that there's not a lot in this place he would even consider eating."

"The health freak strikes again." Rory noted.

"If he would only join us mortals and eat a cheesburger every now and then."

"And how is my new brother?" Rory changed the subject.

"He's just great, aren't you?" Lorelai leaned over and picked William up. "You're just perfect, yes you are."

"OK, I'm starting to get Luke's point of view on the baby talk." Rory stated.

"Don't you take his side." Lorelai complained. "I am your mother, you always take my side."

"Sorry, mother." Rory mocked.

"Oh, look, he smiled at me!" Lorelai announced, holding William up so Rory could see.

"He's not even a day old, I doubt he can smile yet." Rory shook her head.

"He smiled at me, I'm telling you." Lorelai insisted. "You're special, aren't you? You're going to be even smarter than your sisters."

"Well, he's got good genes." Rory concluded.

"So, where are the grandparents?" Lorelai asked, putting William down in his crib. "They didn't come with you?"

"Oh no, they're here." Rory replied. "They just got held up in the gift shop."

"They didn't?" Lorelai frowned. "Didn't you tell them not to get anything? They can do that when we get home."

"I tried, I really did." Rory defended herself. "There was no stopping them."

"Great."

"You can just throw away whatever you don't want to bring home." Rory suggested.

"Yeah, I guess." Lorelai agreed.

"Or maybe not..." Rory started when the door opened to reveal a cloud of what appeared to be hundreds of balloons, all blue.

"How is my grandson?" Richard exclaimed, dropping a couple of huge teddy bears on the floor and rushing to William's crib.

"Who's the most beautiful baby in the world? You are, yes you are!" Emily joined her husband at the crib after having released the balloons in the room.

"Jeez, guys, feeling the love here." Lorelai said from the bed.

"I'm sorry, Lorelai, we're just excited." Emily apologized, turning to her daughter. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, the doctor said everything's healing nicely." Lorelai replied.

"Gross, mom." Rory complained. "I thought we agreed on the no details policy."

"She asked." Lorelai defended herself.

"I didn't want a play-by-play." Emily said.

"Neither of us did." Rory agreed.

"What, you want me to shelter you from the real world?" Lorelai asked in fake shock. "Do you want me to tell you that babies come from the stork? Because that might cause a problem when your husband says, sometimes in the veeery distant future, twenty, thirty years from now, 'hey, let's have kids'."

"OK, first of all, I doubt I'll wait thirty years to have kids, considering that it would be pretty much physically impossible by then, second of all, I know where babies come from, I just don't want a detailed description." Rory replied.

"Fine." Lorelai surrendered. "You just be happy that I didn't get someone to video it."

"I will be forever grateful."

"As will all of us." Richard said, joining the three women by Lorelai's bed. "Now, I need a little help in the testosterone department, and this one is a tad too young still. Where's Luke?"

"He just went to get something to eat a little while ago, he'll be back soon." Lorelai told her father.

"He stayed here last night?" Emily asked.

"Of course he did." Richard stated in an obvious voice.

"He didn't want to leave his son, mom, so yes, he stayed." Lorelai said dryly.

"I didn't say that he shouldn't stay, I was just surprised." Emily retorted. "He does have a diner to run, after all."

"He also has employees." Lorelai replied.

"So, where did he sleep?" Emily wondered.

"They brought in an extra bed for him." Lorelai explained.

"That's great, so, did anyone see the documentary about whales last week?" Rory said out of the blue, getting surprised looks from her mother and grandparents. "Just trying to change the subject."

"Did a circus explode in here?" Came Luke's voice from the door.

"There you are, thank God." Richard said. "I was drowning in estrogen."

"And it's about to get worse." Luke announced. "I just talked to Anna, and she and April will be over in a little while."

"Oh my God, I totally forgot about them last night." Lorelai realised. "And Sookie, did you call her and Jackson? And Liz, you have to call Liz."

"I called Sookie and Liz last night, and then I called Babette, so she could tell the town." Rory reassured her mother. "Sookie said she'd come by around ten, and Liz is coming later this afternoon. I told Babette to tell the town to wait until you guys come home."

"Oh, OK, that's good." Lorelai visibly relaxed. "Thanks babe."

"So, what's with all the balloons?" Luke asked.

"Mom and dad went a little overboard." Lorelai explained.

"Is it so bad to be excited about our grandson?" Emily said in an annoyed voice.

"No, mom, it's not." Lorelai replied. "I'm sorry."

"Well, OK then." Emily nodded.

"Where's my godson?" Sookie came rushing into the room.

"Hey, Sook." Lorelai returned the hug Sookie gave her.

"Oh, he's the sweetest thing!" Sookie gushed, focusing on William in the crib.

"Hey, Lorelai." Jackson said.

"Hey Jackson, she drag you out of bed?" Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look.

"She was so excited, she hardly slept all night." Jackson replied.

"Shush you." Sookie glared at her husband.

"Maybe we should wait outside, it's too crowded in here." Emily said, looking at Richard.

"Why don't you stay, Emily, Luke and I will leave for a moment." Richard replied. "I have a couple of cigars with our names on them." He added, quietly enough so that only Luke heard him.

"We'll be back in a little while." Luke told Lorelai, who nodded.

"Now, we're not allowed to smoke these in here, but I talked to this nice nurse last night, and she told me that there's a balcony on this floor that we could use." Richard said as he closed the door to Lorelai's room behind them, handing Luke a cigar.

"This is very kind of you, sir, but I don't really smoke cigars." Luke tried to argue.

"Nonsense, you have a baby, you smoke a cigar. It's tradition." Richard waved it off. "And it's Richard. We're family now, after all."

"OK, maybe I'll try it. Richard." Luke replied.

"That's my boy."

xxxxx

"So, your dad seems to be getting along with Luke OK." Sookie noted. Emily and Jackson were arguing over who William looked like the most, Lorelai or Luke, so Lorelai, Rory and Sookie could speak in private.

"Either that, or he's about to off him." Lorelai joked.

"I'm serious." Sookie replied. "It's good, right?"

"It is." Lorelai agreed. "I just wish Cruella over there could join in on the festivities."

"I think Grandma's coming around." Rory said. "She was actually civil to Luke last night before we left."

"Really? Will the wonders ever cease?" Lorelai mumbled.

"You know, you might want to give her a chance." Rory suggested. "She's really been trying these past fewmonths, and I think that if she just gets a chance to get used to Luke being back in our lives, she'll be fine with it."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Lorelai agreed, looking over at her mother and Jackson, who were laughing about something. If someone had told her a year ago that her mother and Jackson would be having a conversation, let alone laugh together, she would have sent them straight to the looney bin.

Maybe people could change.

xxxxx

Luke was sitting in the waiting room down the hallway from Lorelai's room. Liz, T.J., Amanda, Anna and April were in there, gushing over William and talking way too much baby talk for his liking, so he had taken refuge in the waiting room for the time being.

"Hey." He looked up as he heard April's voice.

"Hey, why aren't you in there, getting to know your little brother?" Luke asked.

"I'll get to know him eventually." April said, sitting down in the plastic chair next to the one Luke was sitting in. "I kinda wanted to talk to you."

"OK, what about?" Luke wondered.

"Well... I don't have to, if you don't want me to." She started. "I just thought... I mean, William, is going to be calling you dad, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, I guess so." Luke replied, wondering if the conversation was going where he though it was going.

"So, maybe... maybe I should start calling you dad, you know, so you'll get used to it?" She suggested, looking down at her shoes.

"If you want to, of course you can." Luke told her, feeling his heart swell a little.

"OK, good." April nodded.

"Good."

"So, there's another thing I was wondering about." April continued after a little while.

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"Why haven't you and Lorelai gotten back together?" She looked up at him.

"That... I don't know, we're just... we're not at the same place that we were when I left, we can't just pick up where we left off." Luke tried to explain.

"But you're still in love with her." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Sometimes that's not enough." Luke replied.

"It should be."


	16. 15 I am going to kill them

**AN: Well, folks, this is it. Final chapter. Thanks to Katie for all her help with this story! Enjoy, and tell me what you think.**

**15 – I am going to kill them**

"Hello?" Lorelai answered the phone after the third ring.

"Hey mom." Rory's voice came over the line.

"Well, hello there. I didn't think you would dare to call." Lorelai said, trying her best to sound angry.

"Mom, we went over this." Rory replied patiently. "It's my last spring break in college, **you **told me to go do something fun, remember?"

Rory and Paris had gone to San Diego for spring break, boyfriend and parent free for a week of sun and relaxation.

"You shouldn't do what I tell you." Lorelai complained. "Now I'm lonely."

"There's not a single person in Stars Hollow that you can talk to?" Rory said sarcastically.

"Nobody wants to talk to me." Lorelai mumbled.

"And why is that?" Rory asked. They had had the same conversation once a day for the past couple of weeks.

"Because I always get mad and start yelling at them." Lorelai admitted.

"And why do you do that?"

"Because I haven't had a good night's sleep in three months." Lorelai replied.

"Exactly!" Rory exclaimed.

"But there's nothing I can do about it." Lorelai continued. "I think the hospital has a policy that says you can only return your purchase withing the first two weeks."

"You are way too overprotective." Rory chose to ignore her mother's joke.

"I am not." Lorelai argued.

"What about when Babette offered to watch Will for an hour, so you could go and get your hair done?" Rory wondered.

"That was one time I..."

"And when Lane said that she'd be happy to keep an eye on him when you ran to the post office to get stamps?" Rory cut her mother off.

"I just don't want to leave him alone." Lorelai defended herself.

"And when I told you to stay at Sookie's for the weekend so you could get some sleep? And how about how Luke offers to take Will for the night several times a week?" Rory continued. "You haven't let him out of your sight in three months, you don't even trust me or Luke to look after him."

"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just... I don't want to leave him and have something happen when I'm not there to fix it." Lorelai explained. "I know I'm being irrational, and I'm trying to deal, OK? I even left the room for half an hour to take a shower when Luke was here last night, that's progress."

"I guess." Rory sighed. "You will just have to learn to let go a little. You'll be going back to work soon, you know, he'll be at the diner a couple of days a week then."

"I know, and I hate it." Lorelai whined. "Why can't I just stay at home with him?"

"Because you have to earn money." Rory reasoned. "Since you haven't managed to marry rich, you know."

"Knew I forgot something." Lorelai said.

"So... how about you let Luke take Will for the night this weekend when I get back?" Rory carefully suggested. "We could have a girls night, invite Sookie, Lane and April over, watch movies and pig out?"

Lorelai was quiet for a moment, obviously trying to process the fact that she wouldn't see her precious little boy for an entire night.

"OK, that sounds good." She finally agreed. "I'll have to run it by Luke, though."

"I doubt he'll mind." Rory assured her.

"I haven't been that bad, have I?" Lorelai dreaded the answer.

"Oh, it's been bad." Rory replied.

"I'm sorry." Lorelai apologized. "I will get better. And pretty soon, William should be sleeping through the night, and I'll be able to get some well needed rest."

"Which everyone will appreciate."

"I do not need any snappy remarks, missy!" Lorelai joked.

"I'll save them for Friday." Rory promised.

"See you at the grandparents?" Lorelai asked.

"See you then. Kiss Will for me."

Lorelai hung up and dropped the phone on the couch before getting up. She quickly got William dressed, it was May, so he didn't need too many clothes, and left the house.

As she walked through Stars Hollow, she noticed that it was almost summer. Where was spring? Had she missed it?

Realising that she probably had, she scolded herself. She had been so wrapped up in her little world, the world in which only she and William existed, that she had forgotten that life actually went on. She knew that she had pushed people away, she wasn't sure why. She was just so tired all the time.

She knew that she had mostly herself to blame for that. Both Luke, Rory, Sookie and her parents had offered to help her, to take Will for a night or two, just so she would be able to catch up on some sleep. But she had refused. Not even Luke, who was as much William's parent as she was, had been allowed to take care of him. His own son. Well, that was about to change now.

Looking up, Lorelai realised she was in front of the diner. She had walked there so many times that she didn't need to think, her feet found the way on their own. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Might as well get it over with.

Luke looked up as she walked in, offering a smile.

"Hey. Isn't it a little early for lunch?" He looked up at the clock on the wall. After William was born, they had come to a kind of agreement. Neither of them wanted to get lawyers involved, so the tried to agree on custody themselves.

They had decided that they would deal with the living situation when Will got a little older. As for now, he lived with Lorelai and Luke was welcome to see him whenever he wanted to. They also had standing breakfast and lunch dates, when Lorelai would come to the diner and eat while Luke got to see his son. Then Luke brought dinner to Lorelai's house, and usually spent the rest of the evening there. When Lorelai went back to work, she would bring William to the inn with her on the less busy days, and he would stay with Luke at the diner the rest of the week.

It was now ten thirty, and Lorelai was indeed early for lunch. Taking another breath, she decided to dive in.

"I was actually thinking about going to the mall for a little while, and I thought Will could stay with you." She said quickly, before she had time to change her mind.

"Stay here? Are you sure?" Luke asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Lorelai nodded, already feeling better about the decision. "I mean, I'll be going back to work in July, so I figured you should start practicing."

"Are you sure?" Luke repeated.

"Will you stop asking that? Yes, I'm sure." Lorelai realised that she had snapped at him, and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"That's OK." Luke replied. "It's just, you haven't really liked the idea of leaving him before."

"I know." Lorelai nodded. "I had a little talk with Rory earlier, and I realised that I've been kinda... well, a bitch, lately, not only about not letting William out of my sight."

"You've just been tired." Luke said.

"I have, and it was my own fault." Lorelai replied. "I should have let him stay the night here every now and then, not just so that I could get some sleep. He is your son too."

"Does that mean that you'll agree to him staying with me from now on?" Luke asked cautiously.

"That's exactly what it means." Lorelai confirmed. "In fact, how about this Saturday? Rory suggested having a girls night in."

"That sounds great." Luke agreed. "I have everything upstairs that he'll need, you already made sure of that."

"Great. It's settled then." Lorelai nodded. "So, as I was saying, I was thinking about going to the mall, is it OK if Will stays here for a couple of hours?"

"Sure. Ceasar and Lane can handle the lunch rush." Luke said, taking William from Lorelai. "Is his carriage outside?"

"Yeah, I left it by the door." Lorelai replied. "OK, so I'm going then." She took a few steps backwards, not turning around.

"It's OK, we'll be fine." Luke assured her.

"I know." Lorelai nodded. "Bye baby, see you in a little while, OK? You be good to daddy."

"Bye, Lorelai." Luke gave her a pointed look.

"Bye. Leaving now." Lorelai turned around and almost ran out of the diner, to stop herself from turning around again. When she had gotten a few blocks from the diner, she stopped. "OK, you can do this." She told herself before she continued her walk home. She had walked to the diner, so she needed to get her car.

Opening the front door, she immediately grabbed the phone and pressed the speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Is everything OK?"

"You've been gone less than ten minutes, everything's fine." Luke said in an annoyed voice.

"OK, just wanted to check." Lorelai said.

"Are you going to call every five minutes?" Luke asked.

"No, of course not." Lorelai replied. "Every fifteen, tops."

"Goodbye, Lorelai." Luke hung up the phone.

"OK, you can do this." Lorelai repeated like a mantra as she located the car keyes and got in the jeep.

The drive to the mall seemed to take much longer than the usual twenty minutes, and the moment Lorelai had turned the ignition off, she got her cell phone from her purse.

"Hello?"

"Hi, me again."

"We're fine." Luke said tiredly.

"I know. I just... it's the first time I haven't had him where I could get to him in ten seconds, it takes a little getting used to. Sorry." Lorelai apologized.

"You don't have to apologize." Luke replied. "But you don't have to call every ten minutes, either. I'll call you if anything happens, not that it will. He's safe with me, you know."

"I know." Lorelai's voice softened a little. "I'm just way overprotective."

"Well, let me be overprotective for a while." Luke suggested. "I bet I'm great at it."

"Oh, I know you are." Lorelai replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luke asked.

"Just that your daughter and I have a very good relationship, and we tend to talk a lot... every now and then about you." Lorelai said.

"April thinks I'm overprotective?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Lorelai said sarcastically. "But who am I to throw stones? I might break a window."

"OK, let's drop this conversation. You go shop, have fun, don't worry." Luke instructed her.

"OK. I think I'll be OK now." Lorelai said.

"Good. See you in a couple of hours."

"See you then." Lorelai hung up and put the phone back in her purse. She headed into the mall and to the nearest shoe store.

Half an hour, and a couple of tried on sandals, later, Lorelai once again had her cell phone to her ear. It rang three times, four... five...

"We're fine!" Luke didn't even say hello first.

"Just checking."

"Well, stop, or I'll unhook the phone." Luke threatened.

"OK, OK."

xxxxx

"Hey Lorelai, Rory." April got into the jeep.

"Hey babe, everything good?" Lorelai asked, pulling out from the drive way.

"Everything's great. I got an A on my English paper yesterday." April replied.

"I told you it was good." Rory said. "And I never lie about school."

"You can trust her on that." Lorelai assured her.

"So, did you already drop William off at dad's?" April asked.

"Yeah, on the way here." Lorelai told her.

"And we have movies, junk food... am I forgetting something?" Rory wondered.

"No, I think that's it." Lorelai nodded.

"And how many times has she called yet?" April asked Rory.

"Hey! I did not call that many times!" Lorelai tried to defend herself.

"Thirty two times in less than three hours is 'not that many times'?" Rory questioned.

Lorelai's trip to the mall and the subsequent phone calls had been shared with both Rory and April by Luke.

"She actually hasn't called at all yet." Rory told April.

"Really?" April said surprised. "I'm proud of you."

"I'm getting there." Lorelai replied. "The first couple of times are just a little tough."

"We know, mom, we're just making fun of you."

xxxxx

"Will you just watch the movie?" Sookie exclaimed a few hours later.

It was almost eight, and Lorelai had suddenly realised that she wouldn't be able to say goodnight to William.

"But I don't want him to go to sleep without his goodnight kiss." Lorelai complained.

"I'm sure he'll survive." Rory said dryly, her eyes on the TV.

"I'm calling Luke." Lorelai announced, getting up from the couch and going into the kitchen.

"But you were so strong!" Lane called after her. Lorelai had managed to just call once the entire evening.

"Hello?" Ceasar answered the phone at the diner.

"Hey, Ceasar, is Luke there?" Lorelai asked.

"No, he said he was taking the rest of the night off, and that I should close up by myself." Ceasar explained. "He's upstairs."

"OK, I'll try the cell then." Lorelai hung up the phone and dialled Luke's new cell phone number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me." Lorelai said.

"Hey, you haven't called in almost two hours." Luke noted. "Good going."

"I really wasn't going to call, but then I realised that I wouldn't be able to give Will his goodnight kiss, and I though I could maybe do it over the phone." Lorelai explained.

"Why don't you just come over and say goodnight to him?" Luke suggested.

"Really? Is that OK?"

"Of course it's OK." Luke said.

"OK, I'll be over in a little while." Lorelai replied.

"See you then."

Lorelai hung up the phone and went back into the living room.

"I'm just gonna go over there for a little while." She told the girls.

"No, mom, it's a girls night, no boys allowed." Rory told her.

"I just want to say goodnight." Lorelai defended herself, walking to the door as she spoke.

"Traitor!" Rory called after her, but Lorelai ignored her.

xxxxx

As the front door slammed shut, Rory sighed.

"I guess she'll be gone a while." She said to no one in particular.

"Maybe she'll fall alseep over there." April suggested.

"Maybe she'll have some fun over there." Sookie smiled in a knowing way.

"Sookie! It's, like, one big room and William's right there." Rory said in mock shock.

"I was only saying." Sookie replied. "I mean, they'll have to figure it out sooner or later, right?"

"I'd put some money on the later." Rory stated.

"I'll have to agree with you." Lane chipped in. "Those two are blinder than the three blind mice."

"Isn't it about time that we did something?" April wondered. "I mean, it's been five months since my dad came back here, and still, nothing."

"I think she's right." Rory nodded. "We are going to have to do something drastic."

"Like what?" Sookie wondered.

Rory raked her brain for a while, trying to figure out the best way to get her mom and Luke back together. When it finally came to her, she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.

"I have an idea..."

xxxxx

"So, are you done packing?" Rory asked, coming into Lorelai's bedroom. As she saw the chaos in there, she continued. "Obviously not."

"I don't know what you're supposed to bring to a spa." Lorelai complained, holding up a white t-shirt with pink heart on it.

"I don't think you're supposed to wear a lot of clothes, actually." Rory reasoned. "I mean, you'll be getting different massages and, like, mud baths and stuff, right?"

"I guess." Lorelai put down the t-shirt and picked up a turquoise sun dress with flowers. "But it's a pretty fancy place, right? And we'll eat in the dining room. You're not supposed to wear those robes in there, are you?"

"I would have to go with no." Rory replied. "Bring that new dress you bought last week."

"The blue one? Hon, it's just Sookie." Lorelai looked over at the dress, that was still hanging on the door. It was a beautiful, halter dress, but it was a little too fancy for dinner with a friend.

"Don't you want to look nice?" Rory asked.

"Nah, Sookie's a sure thing." Lorelai joked. "Seriously, you think I should bring it?"

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared, right?" Rory said. "There could be this handsom, rich guy there just waiting to ask you out, but when you show up for dinner in a plain old sun dress, he'll just think 'too bad, looks like that wasn't the one'. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"Right, because there are so many rich, handsome bachelors at a spa." Lorelai said sarcastucally.

"You never know." Rory took the dress from the hanger and put it in Lorelai's suitcase.

This was, of course, not the real reason for why Rory was encouraging her mother to bring the dress, but she wasn't about to cave in now, not after three weeks of planning.

Sookie hadn't been too hard to convince. She was happy to give up her weekend at the spa so Lorelai and Luke could spend some time together, alone, and hopefully realise that they were supposed to be together.

The hard part had been to keep as much information from Luke as possible, since they didn't want him to get suspicious when April lured him to the spa later that night. There he would meet not April and Anna, but Lorelai, as unaware of the set up as him.

Then, unfortunately, it was all up to the two of them. Rory only hoped that they would see why she and April had gone through all the trouble of getting them there. And if not... onto plan B. As soon as she had come up with one.

"So, all done?" Rory asked as Lorelai zipped the bag shut.

"I think so." Lorelai frowned, going through what she had packed in her mind. "Tell me what I've forgotten."

"You have the clothes, obviously." Rory checked it off a mental list. "Toothbrush, toothpaste, money, clean underwear, cell phone, charger... I think you're all set."

"I still don't understand why Sookie and I can't go in the same car." Lorelai complained as she carried the suit case downstairs.

Part of the plan had been, naturally, to get Lorelai to drive to the spa without Sookie. To make that possible, Sookie had come up with a fake doctors appointment so that she would join Lorelai that evening.

It was now almost noon, and Lorelai was about to leave. She was having lunch at the spa and then had a massage scheduled for two o'clock.

"OK, I'm off." Lorelai gave Rory a hug, dropping the suitcase on the floor in the hallway.

"Drive safely, and call me when you get there." Rory told her.

"I will, mother." Lorelai went over to the basinet where William was lying wide awake. "Goodbye baby, mommy's gonna miss you so much." She gave him a kiss on the forhead before putting him back down.

"OK, you've said your goodbyes, get going." Rory grabbed Lorelai's suitcase and headed for the door, her mother following.

"Someone's a little too eager to get rid of me." Lorelai said suspiciously as Rory put the suitcase in the backseat of the jeep.

"I'm not eager to get rid of you, I just want you to get going, you're going to miss lunch." Rory covered. "Plus, I want to get started on my weekend alone with my little brother."

"OK, I'll buy that for now." Lorelai eyed Rory.

"And don't forget, you're meeting Sookie in the dining room at seven." Rory reminded her as Lorelai got into the drivers seat.

"I know, she'll be the one wearing a pink rose." Lorelai joked. "Thank you again for this, babe, and I'll see you tomorrow night." She started the car and drove into the street.

"One down..." Rory muttered to herself, going back into the house.

xxxxx

"Why haven't I ever done this before?" Lorelai said to herself as she sunk deeper into the water. In the bathroom of the small suite she and Sookie were staying in, she had discovered a hot tub.

After arriving at the spa, she had eaten an amazing lunch, gotten a full body massage, and was now relaxing, waiting for the time to pass until she was meeting Sookie in the dining room.

Looking at the clock on the wall, she realised it was already 6:15. and she should be getting ready. Sighing, she slipped out of the warm water and wrapped a towel around herself.

Going back into the bedroom, she pondered what she would wear. The blue dress was hung up on the closet door, and she looked at it for a moment, Rory's words coming back to her.

_There could be this handsom, rich guy there just waiting to ask you out..._

Not that she wanted that. She wasn't ready to move on, not yet, if ever. Seeing Luke every day just made her realize what she had lost, and she fell a little more in love with him every day.

Sighing, she grabbed the dress and put it on. She didn't have to dress up for a guy, she would do it for herself, to feel good about herself.

Looking in the mirror, she liked the result. She had been able to get rid of the pregnancy weight pretty fast, by taking long walks every day. She knew she looked good, why not show it off a little?

Deciding on the dress, she got started on her hair. What to do with it, the eternal question.

xxxxx

Luke pulled into a space in the large parking lot in front of what looked like a hotel. Why had April wanted him to have dinner with him and Anna here? She had said that she wanted to tell him something important, and that by going out they would celebrate a little. He guessed that the event was her making the Mathletics at the school, but he wasn't sure.

Getting out of the car, he eyed the building suspiciously. Well, if April wanted to eat here, then they would.

Walking inside, he approached the reception.

"Yes, may I help you?" A blonde woman in her thirties asked.

"I'm looking for the dining room, I'm meeting someone for dinner." Luke replied.

"The dining room's right through there, just take a left at the end of the hall." The receptionist pointed him in the right direction.

"Thank you."

At the end of the hallway, Luke turned left, as instructed, and found himself in a very large, very crowded dining room. He looked around, seeing people eating everywhere he turned. Was that couple actually wearing bathrobes?

"Good evening, sir, how may I help you?" An older man, probably the head waiter, asked.

"I'm meeting someone for dinner, Nardini." Luke said.

"Of course, right this way." The waited led him through the dining room to a table in one of the corners, as private as it would get in the large room. "You're the first one to arrive. Would you like a menu?"

"No, thanks, I'll just wait for them to get here." Luke sat down.

"Very well, sir."

xxxxx

Lorelai walked into the large dining room a few minutes late. She hoped Sookie hadn't been waiting too long.

"How may I help you?" A waiter asked.

"I'm here for dinner, Gilmore party." She told him.

"Right this way." The waiter walked ahead of her through the dining room, stopping after a few moments. "Right there, miss, your party is waiting."

"Thank you." Lorelai smiled at him before turning to apologize to Sookie for being late. "I'm really sorry, I got a little... what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Luke replied.

"I'm meeting Sookie." Lorelai explained, sitting down opposite Luke.

"And I'm supposed to meet April and Anna." Luke said.

"But the waiter said this was my... oh, I get it." Lorelai nodded knowingly.

"Get what?" Luke wondered.

"They're setting us up." Lorelai stated.

"Who are? And why?" Luke looked like a question mark.

"Rory and Sookie, and they probably got April involved, too." Lorelai shook her head. "I am going to kill them when I get home, they had no business butting in like this, what are we, in high school?"

"I really don't get what's going on here." Luke interjected.

"They think that we need a little help figuring out where we stand in our relationship." Lorelai explained. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault, Rory has this idea that you still have feelings for me. I've told her over and over that it's not going to happen, no matter how much I would want it to, we're just friends, and that's what we'll stay."

"I think April was a little more involved than you give her credit for." Luke said when Lorelai had finished her little speech.

"You think?"

"Yeah." Luke sighed before continuing. "She asked me in the hospital, after William was born, why we hadn't gotten back together when I was still in love with you."

"When you're... what?" Lorelai couldn't believe what he had just said.

"I'm still in love with you. Never stopped." He looked her straight in the eyes when he said that.

"Me neither."

xxxxx

Luke slowly opened his eyes, the sun having woken him up. Immediately, the previous night came back to him and he rolled over in the bed, coming face to neck with a fast asleep Lorelai.

He smiled a little at her form. It had always been a wonder to him how she managed to sleep in the positions she did. Now, she was laying half on her stomach facing away from him. One leg was thrown over the side of the bed, the other intruding on his side. Her head was buried so deep in the pillow that he wondered if she could breath properly. As an answer to that question, a low snore filled the room.

Moving over so he was right behind her, Luke ran a hand up one of her legs.

"Mmmhmmm." She mumbled, coming out of the deep sleep.

"Morning." He whispered in her ear.

"And a very good one." She replied, turning around to face him.

"Sleep well?" He asked, kissing her on the tip of her nose.

"Better than I have in a long time." She responded.

"Glad to hear it." He moved to her lips and gave her a lingering kiss. As she pulled back, he could see there was something on her mind. "What's wrong?"

"I just... are you sure we can do this?" She asked.

"Do what? Us?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I mean, we don't exactly have the greatest track record. Maybe two break-ups is some sign that we're not supposed to be together?"

"You know what they say?" He kissed a spot on her neck.

"Mmm, no, what?"

"Third time's a charm."

**The End**

**AN: There is a sequel in the works, if people are interested… Let me know!**


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